How the Buffalo Sabres fared against the Canadiens in 2022-23

Up next on How They Fared, we take a look at oldest team in the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens and how the Buffalo Sabres did against them last year.

On this edition of How They Fared, we take a look at the three game season series between the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens. Going into last year, the Habs were viewed as being one of the worst teams in the league and Buffalo was expected to be a little bit better than previous years.

The Sabres hosted the Canadiens toward the end of October for their first matchup. It didn’t start out well for Buffalo as Brendan Gallagher would give Montreal the 1-0 lead and that’s how the first period ended.

Buffalo didn’t waste any time in the second period as Jeff Skinner scored his first goal of the season on the power play to tie the game up. With the score staying the same heading into the third, Montreal retook the lead.

With less than ten minutes to go, Dylan Cozens evened the score. The Canadiens scored once again with just a few minutes left and won the game by a final score of 3-2. It was a frustrating loss at home to a bad team in their own building but the Sabres went on to win three games in a row after.

Buffalo and Montreal wouldn’t have to wait long to see each other again as they would meet up in Montreal in late November. What a start to the game it was for the Sabres. 35 seconds into the game, Rasmus Dahlin opened the scoring and Jeff Skinner made it 2-0 just 17 seconds later.

Buffalo Sabres went on a scoring frenzy in Game 2 vs. Montreal

Not even two minutes later, Alex Tuch made it a 3-0 game on the power play. 44 seconds after Tuch’s goal, Cole Caufield finally got Montreal on the board. After a chaotic first couple of minutes, no more scoring took place.

Just around the halfway point of the second period, Skinner scored to make it 4-1 before Sean Monahan cut Buffalo’s lead in half a couple of minutes later. The Sabres took over in the third period and went on to win the game 7-2.

The final meeting took place back in Buffalo. It was at the end of March and the Sabres were in the midst of pursuing a playoff spot. Once again, you didn’t have to wait long for a goal as Montreal scored not even two minutes into the game.

Their lead would not last long as Lukas Rousek scored his first NHL goal after being called up in his first NHL game to make it 1-1. Just like the first period, the second period had a couple of goals in the first ten minutes.

Buffalo scored on the power play after the Habs took the lead to tie the game up. A few minutes later, Riley Stillman scored his first goal as a Sabre to give Buffalo the lead. Gallagher would score the only goal in the third period and this game needed more than 60 minutes to determine a winner.

After no one scored in overtime, Buffalo and Montreal needed a shootout. After 12 rounds, the Canadiens were able to win the game. This loss was very frustrating for the Sabres because it could have gotten them into the playoffs.

I know everyone talks about the final Florida Panthers game in being the difference but the Buffalo Sabres missed the postseason by one point. You have to think if they got one more point in the last game against the Canadiens it could have been the point that got them in the playoffs.

(Historical data provided by Hockey-Reference)