After a disappointing loss Monday afternoon against the Anaheim Ducks, the Buffalo Sabres were back in action on the road against the Montreal Canadiens. Both teams were tied point-wise in the standings as it's been a disappointing season for each club. In every game this year between the Sabres and Canadiens, the road team won every matchup. Buffalo would look to keep that trend going tonight.
There was only one goal scored in the first period and it came from Montreal with Arber Xhekaj giving the Habs the lead heading into the second frame. A few minutes into the period, Zemgus Girgensons evened things up as he deflected a shot from Henri Jokiharju.
It wouldn't last long as Jayden Struble shot a puck with little effort and unfortunately for Peyton Krebs, it bounced off of him making it 2-1 Montreal. In all three games this year and in recent matchups, Jeff Skinner always seems to score against the Canadiens.
Well, he would keep the trend going when he scored on the power play to tie the game up 2-2. In the last few minutes of the period, Alex Tuch scored a shorthanded goal which turned out to be the game-winner, making it 3-2 Sabres.
Despite not getting a shot on goal in the first half of period three, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen did his job and the Sabres got the two points. What stood out to me was the style Buffalo played, physical. You rarely see Buffalo play physical, but they did just that in this game.
It was great to see the Sabres play mean because they do have a tendency of playing soft or be taken advantage of. While it might not be their style, Buffalo should consider playing like this for the rest of the season. Jordan Greenway was in the center of it and hopefully, more players can play like Greenway going forward.
The Sabres will be back in action on Friday night for a matchup against the Blue Jackets in Columbus.