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Brendan Gallagher went to the net 40 seconds into the 2nd period, and 5 seconds later he had dogged the puck past Chad Johnson to give the Habs a 2-0 lead. The Sabres seemed to be stunned by the early goal, but climbed back into the game on a shift by Sam Reinhart's line that ended in a Matt Moulson goal to cut the Canadiens lead to 2-1. The goal lifted the Sabres' spirits immediately, and they leapt ahead in shots on net (16-14) and shot attempts (32-28) before drawing a penalty with just over 9 minutes left in the 2nd period. Ryan O'Reilly would hammer home a one-timer 5 seconds into the powerplay to tie the game 2-2.
The Canadiens depth would come into play again, as the third different line of the night would score a goal with Brian Flynn tipping a shot from P.K. Subban who earned his 3rd assist of the game.
The Sabres continued their relentless attack, leading in shots on goal and shot attempts, but Mike Condon has been playing a strong game, and looks poised to help the Canadiens earn their 8th win of the season. The Habs would get a late powerplay in the 2nd period and score immediately off the faceoff to reestablish their 2-goal lead. Former Hab, Josh Gorges, would be penalized for interfering with Brendan Gallagher, giving the Canadiens some powerplay time to begin the 3rd period.
Scoring Summary
Penalty Summary
Shots
| PERIOD | MTL | BUF |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | 11 | 11 |
| 2nd | 7 | 11 |
| Total | 18 | 22 |
Team Stats
| CATEGORY | MTL | BUF |
|---|---|---|
| Power Plays | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Hits | 9 | 17 |
| Faceoff Wins | 29 | 18 |
| Giveaways | 3 | 7 |
| Takeaways | 0 | 3 |
| Blocked Shots | 10 | 10 |
| Penalty Minutes | 4 | 4 |