The Montreal Canadiens outlasted the host Buffalo Sabres 7-5 with two-goal efforts from Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki on Monday.
Caufield helped put an end to the Canadiens’ six-game losing skid as he struck on the power play with 7:02 left in the third period to record his second goal of the contest and the eventual game-winner.
Sabres star Tage Thompson scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season, but left the game early in the second period with a lower-body injury.
Sam Montembeault turned aside all four shots he faced in relief of Cayden Primeau, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 14 saves on 18 shots before he was pulled.
Suzuki finished with two goals and two assists, while Juraj Slafkovsky tallied three assists.
Josh Anderson got the Canadiens on the board less than five minutes into the contest. But just 28 seconds later, the red-hot Thompson tied it up, extending his goal-scoring streak to four games.
Caufield first struck on the power play, as with 14:34 to go in the second period the sniper redirected Lane Hutson’s no-look pass from the point into the net.
Once again, the Sabres refused to go away as Dylan Cozens and Peyton Krebs each found the back of the net just 59 seconds apart to retake the lead for Buffalo.
Suzuki and Slafkovsky then hooked up for a pair of goals in the final minute of the second period to give the Canadiens their third lead of the game.
Luukkonen was replaced by Devon Levi after the second period.
Rasmus Dahlin tied the game 4-4 on the power play about two minutes into the third period, and JJ Peterka regained the lead for the Sabres less than two minutes after Dahlin’s goal.
Primeau was replaced by Montembeault following Peterka’s goal.
Emil Heineman wired home the game’s fifth tying goal with 9:10 left in the third period. After Caufield’s go-ahead tally, Christian Dvorak sealed the win with an empty-net goal in the last minute.
Buffalo also lost defenseman Mattias Samuelsson to a lower-body injury in the second period.
–Field Level Media
