The Buffalo Sabres are back in Montreal for their second game against the Canadiens this week. In the first game, the Canadiens would jump out to a 3-1 lead. However, that seemingly doesn't matter to the Sabres as they would score twice in the third period and force overtime.
They would end up with only one point, though, as they would lose in a shootout where the Canadiens scored on all three of their attempts and Buffalo on only one. When looking back at the game on Tuesday, these are three things they could take away from that and apply it to the game Saturday night to hopefully come away with two points instead of one.
Sabres need to generate more scoring chances
The first thing the Buffalo Sabres are going to need to do in this game, compared to their first meeting, is just to get more 5v5 scoring chances. They finished the game with only 13, which is a season-low, and had a total of four through the first two periods of the game.
Entering this game, the focus will be primarily on Tage Thompson and Jack Quinn to generate those chances. They currently lead the team in 5v5 scoring chances with 22 and 16, respectively, but against Montreal they combined for only one, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Sabres probably won't be able to win much if both Tage Thompson and Jack Quinn are not able to produce, especially in a game where they already know they are without Rasmus Dahlin.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen must adjust as the Canadiens target his blocker side
One thing that was abundantly clear in the shootout was that the Montreal Canadiens had a great scouting report on Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and used it to their advantage. The Sabres' goalie was unable to stop any shootout attempts, as all three Canadiens' shooters came up the ice on his left side, and the first two would shoot far post, beating Luukkonen on his blocker side.
Zachary Bolduc was the final shooter for Montreal, and he looked like he was about to do the exact same thing before sliding the puck through the five hole.
The Canadiens have seemingly found a hole in Luukkonen's game that they will try to use during the course of the game. It wouldn't at all be surprising if the Canadiens set up to take most of their shots trying to beat Luukkonen far post blocker side.
Special teams battle could decide the rematch in Montreal
Neither team in this game has necessarily done an exceptionally good job on the power play or penalty kill to begin the season. Right now, the Sabres and Canadiens are each tied for the fifth-fewest power-play goals at three, with the Canadiens a few percentage points better.
Meanwhile, the Sabres have the 29th-ranked penalty kill at 61.5%, and the Canadiens are 17th at 80%. However, one of the reasons the Canadiens rank as high as they do is that they killed five Sabres power plays in their first meeting.
The special teams have been a struggle for the Sabres this season, but there might be an opportunity to shift the advantage in this area towards them, knowing the Canadiens have had similar struggles. If the Sabres are able to do that, along with these other points, they have a great chance to get a road win in Montreal on Saturday night.
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