Buffalo’s Past Players Inspire the Present Team to Victory
Score: Buffalo Sabres 5-3 Montreal Canadiens
Shots: BUF 27-23 MON
Buffalo Sabres Goals: Thompson 23rd PPG (Ostlund, Zucker) Doan 15th PPG (Thompson, Ostlund) Tuch 16th (Thompson, Dahlin) Thompson 24th (Doan) Thompson 25th EN (Benson)
Montreal Canadiens Goals: Caufield 22nd (Dobson) Demidov 11th PPG (Hutson, Suzuki) Suzuki 15th PPG (Hutson, Caufield)
Plus 1: Now Do You Believe?
On a night of our hockey heros from the past, our current crop of Sabres put on a show that was 2005-06 worthy.
Alex Tuch had a great chance early in this one but Montreal got on the board first. Cole Caufield scored on his own rebound off a 2 on 1 break to give the Habs the lead. Buffalo answered right back on the power play as Tage Thompson ripped home his 23rd of the season. The Sabres had good puck movement and scored in just under 20 seconds with the man advantage.
Buffalo pressed on, getting 9 shots on goal before the ten minute mark of the first period (only 5 less than last game). The Sabres went back to the power play and Josh Doan pulled off some more Josh Doan moves. Holding the puck at the goal line, 12 feet from the net, he simply skated right to the goal unchallenged and roofed it short side, top corner. A real beauty from Doaner who is fearless taking the puck to the net. Tage and Ostlund both collected their second point of the period with the assists.
The Sabres then picked up back to back penalties and were down two men for over a minute. Montreal won the draw and easily moved the puck around at will before Ivan Demidov rifled a shot over the glove of Colten Ellis. The teams were now tied at two. Buffalo was thankfully able to kill off the back end of the second penalty. Shots favored the Sabres 12 to 7 after one.
Plus 2: These Guys Are Good!
Buffalo’s penalty trouble continued in the 2nd period with Jacob Bryson going off for holding. The Sabres once heralded PK came up short again and has been slipping for a few weeks now. Ellis made the save on a blast but the rebound went right to Nick Suzuki who scored his 15th of the year. Rebound control is the main issue Ellis seems to have and two of the three scored on him to this point displayed that. Montreal has so many players who can score, and the Sabres were taking needless penalties. Not a good recipe for success.
Buffalo answered on the rush with a breakout pass from Rasmus Dahlin. Tage Thompson worked his way over the blue line, then skated into the slot before dishing the puck to Alex Tuch who fired a long range shot that beat Jacob Fowler. It was Tuch’s 16th of the year with Tage notching his 3rd point of the evening. It was also a much needed goal as the Canadiens had already scored two straight.
Both teams had decent chances over the remaining time with the Sabres handing out a few nice hits. The game was 3-3 after two periods with Buffalo leading in shots 22-15.
Plus 3: Scary Good!
Montreal took a tripping call in the first minute of the period but the Sabres could do nothing with it. But not long after, Tage Thompson was at it again, scoring his 2nd goal of the night and forth point overall. After a jumble of bodies got tangled up along the wall, Josh Doan emerged with the puck and made a sweet pass to Thompson as he skated in on Fowler. Tage wasted no time, firing the puck and beating the Montreal goaltender. It was a big goal as the Sabres took the lead again, finally.
Buffalo had another power play and looked much better but could not connect again. Thompson did hit the bar on the best chance. Afterwards, a wild series of events almost cost Colten Ellis and the Sabres. Buffalo’s goaltender came way out to play the puck with a Sabre and Canadien racing to get it first. He misfired on the puck, turning it over 30 feet out of the net. Somehow, someway, Ellis made it back to the crease and made a series of unorthodox saves (along with the D). But he could not corral the puck twice and the Habs kept getting more chances and more shots. It was sheer madness for about 30 seconds as the Population of Pominville held their collective breath. Finally, Jason Zucker made a huge painful block and the puck was cleared.
The hats came off for Tage Thompson after Montreal pulled the goalie. Buffalo’s big man scored his third tally of the night and 5th point of the game. Kudos to Tuch and Benson on the play.
Montreal was pressing but the Sabres held on and beat their division rival 5-3. A huge win for this club as they pick up another 2 points and inch a little closer to the Canadiens.
Dan Dunleavy said it well at the final horn. “This team is serious.” I guess that’s what happens when your organization finally starts to grow up. This was a monster win for the Sabres who continue to impress the entirety of the NHL.
Final Thoughts:
The Sabres had a nice pre-game presentation celebrating the 2005-06 team that captured our hearts and came oh so close to the Stanley Cup finals. (they would have won!) Only a rash of injuries on defense prevented that team from going all the way. Ryan Miller, Andrew Peters, Jay McKee and many, many more were there. The players were a part of the festivities and broadcast all evening. It was great to see most of that team assembled once again.
It was announced during the game that former Buffalo players Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville will be joining the Sabres’ Hall of Fame. The induction will take place during the 2026-27 season.
Jason Zucker left the game after getting hit hard from behind by Arber Xhekaj as he straddled the blue line without the puck. That easily should have been an interference call but was ignored by the refs. He was thankfully back out there to start the 3rd period and he finished the game.
The Sabres will finish up their five game homestand with an afternoon affair against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, Jan. 17th at 12:30 pm Eastern time.