For the third time since January 15th, the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens met in what was the final regular-season game between the two teams. However, it might not be the last time these two teams meet, as they could end up seeing each other in the playoffs.
The game on Saturday was a close contest between two teams that were clearly very familiar with each other. Neither team really took over the game, and it was a back-and-forth contest that saw the Canadiens have a 1-0 lead after the first period and the Sabres with a 2-1 lead after the second period.
Montreal would end up scoring three goals, including an empty-net goal, in the third to take the lead back and hold on for the win. The Sabres are now 20-4-1 over their last 25 games, and these are some of the takeaways from the game on Saturday.
Buffalo Sabres continue their strong second-period performance
One of the big trends this season is the Buffalo Sabres' ability to win the second period, and against the Montreal Canadiens, it not only helped them tie the game but also take the lead.
There is no question it was a weird period as the Canadiens started it on the power play but took a penalty towards the end of it. The two teams played 4-on-4 before the Sabres had the man advantage, but then Ryan McLeod took a penalty towards the end of their power play that had the two teams go back to 4-on-4 before Montreal had the man advantage.
Neither team really capitalized early in the period, but then the Canadiens were called for a penalty, which was a delayed call. The Sabres, after pulling Alex Lyon, had a 6-on-5 advantage that resulted in Owen Power scoring for Buffalo.
However, the Sabres were not done as Noah Ostlund would give the Sabres their first lead of the game with a little over a minute left in the period.
This season, the Sabres are outscoring their opponents 68-46 in the middle period, which is a significant improvement over last season. That second period was where teams took over games and the Sabres were rarely able to come back.
Ryan McLeod ties a career-best with a fifth straight game with an assist
Teams in the league don't have the type of streak the Buffalo Sabres have if they don't get production from top to bottom. Most of the headlines have been driven by Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch, who had hat tricks in back-to-back games entering the Montreal game.
One player that has flown under the radar somewhat has been Ryan McLeod, but against the Canadiens would tie his career-best of five games in terms of consecutive games with an assist. In fact, over the past five games, McLeod has seven assists and is third on the team in assists with 27.
McLeod does a lot of good things for this team, particularly with what he does on the penalty kill and how he capitalizes on teams' mistakes. He is tied for the lead in the NHL in short-handed goals with four.
However, the success he is having with Jason Zucker and Jack Quinn on the second line is just giving this forward group more depth that would be needed, especially in the playoffs.
Buffalo Sabres have to bounce back with a tough three-game stretch
The Buffalo Sabres haven't been in these positions too often over the past six weeks as they try to rebound from a loss. However, they have three games over four nights starting on Monday that are going to be pivotal heading into the Olympic break.
It starts with a road game against the Florida Panthers before their first meeting of the season against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday. They return home for a meeting with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
These are teams competing for a playoff spot and these points could be crucial down the stretch in terms of seeding.