The Buffalo Sabres were back in Montreal on Saturday night for their third straight road game, a road trip that began in Montreal on Tuesday before going to Toronto on Thursday night to play the Maple Leafs. The Sabres were hoping to get two points against the Canadiens after suffering a shootout loss in the first meeting.
While the Sabres were able to mount another third-period comeback and tie it at three, they stumbled in overtime, and Cole Caufield beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the game-winner in the extra period. The Sabres are now 4-3-2 on the season, and these are four takeaways from the game on Saturday night.
Buffalo Sabres put together an interesting combination for their top line
The Buffalo Sabres are probably going to have to make some major changes to their forward lines with Jason Zucker close to returning. On Saturday, the coaching staff might have been trying to get ahead of that with Ryan McLeod on the top line with Tage Thompson and Josh Doan.
The Sabres not only had McLeod on the top line but also moved Thompson to the wing after he spent most of this season at center. Unfortunately, the results were not great, and this line had just over eight minutes of 5v5 ice time and had an xGF% of only 2.68%.
In the third period, the coaching staff shuffled the lines a bit and moved Jiri Kulich up to replace McLeod. Those results were almost immediate, as Doan found Tage Thompson for a goal to tie it at three, and that line finished with an xGF% of 85.55%.
It was a surprising line combination to start the game, but probably one they won't be going back to any time soon.
Jack Quinn does more than just score goals
After Jack Quinn had four points against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he kept that level of play up against the Montreal Canadiens with a goal. He now has five goals and nine points in nine games to begin this season.
However, the most notable play won't show up in the box score, but it had a huge impact on the game. It came in the first period when the Canadiens had a 2-on-1 break, and almost out of nowhere, Quinn caught up to the play and made a diving play to break up the pass and ensure they didn't get a shot on net.
It has been a great start to the season for Quinn and the Sabres' forward is seemingly doing everything for Buffalo.
Buffalo Sabres special teams cost them the win once again
It is the same old story for the Buffalo Sabres as their special teams once again cost them two points. Early in the game, Zack Bolduc would tie it at one with a power-play goal, and in fact, this was the Canadiens first shot on goal and came at 11:45 in the first period.
Their penalty kill has ranked near the bottom for most of the season after being one of the best in the entire league last season. The departures of Alex Tuch and Bowen Byram certainly have played a factor but at some point they can't continue to use that excuse.
As for the power play, this group was once again held scoreless after having four opportunities. One of those chances came in the final two minutes of the third period and the Sabres had a great chance to win it in regulation and not even get to overtime.
Unfortunately, they couldn't really get many scoring chances and it would cost them a point.
Sabres deserve a lot of credit getting 4 of 6 points without Rasmus Dahlin
The Buffalo Sabres would play their third straight overtime game on this road trip and after a shootout loss to the Canadiens, they have been able to secure three out of a possible four points against the Maple Leafs and in the rematch with the Canadiens. It is always impressive to get four out of six points in a three game road trip, but the fact they did it without Rasmus Dahlin is rather remarkable.
Prior to this run, the Sabres had only one win in 15 games without Dahlin, dating back to the 2014-15 season with a record of 1-10-4. It wasn't perfect, and they still have a lot to work on, but this is something they can build on, especially with the returning Dahlin, hopefully Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
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