First period
- Jacob Fowler is called upon to make a save on a cross-crease pass just seconds into the game.
- Montreal is just trying to survive the early push from the Sabres with a couple of icings. Other than that initial chance, nothing has tested Fowler so far.
- The Sabres don’t give up much this season, but they just got too aggressive on their offensive-zone pinches and allowed a two-on-one for Cole Caufield and Alexandre Texier. Caufield kept the puck to get a shot himself, then gathered his own rebound to open the scoring.
First chance doesn't go, but Cole Caufield roofs his own rebound to make it 1-0 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) January 15, 2026 at 8:32 PM
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- Montreal will now go on the penalty kill as Lane Hutson is dinged for high-sticking.
- The response is immediate from Tage Thompson, who walks in to near the faceoff dot and beats Fowler.
- Ivan Demidov steals the puck on the boards and had no one between him and goaltender Colten Ellis, but his shot goes right into Ellis’s break basket.
- The Sabres aren’t making mistakes anymore, and Montreal is having a hard time getting out of its zone.
- The Sabres are going back on the power play as Kaiden Guhle goes off for interference.
- Josh Doan looks for a pass, but sees he has a lane to the net instead. He quickly makes his advance and puts the puck in over Fowler’s shoulder.
- So maybe stay out of the penalty box tonight, which would be easier if they could first exit their own zone. What had been a steadily rising penalty-kill percentage will take a hit tonight.
- Texier gets in on Ellis and lifts the puck up under the crossbar. It looked like it went in, but apparently hit the bottom of the bar and stayed out. On the replay, it hit the crossbar, then the goal line, and bounced away.
- They may not have scored there, but they get a power play of their own as Brendan Gallagher’s stick is chopped out of his hands.
- Hutson gets high-sticked, and he gets to lead the five-on-three.
- It took the usual 15 passes, but they finally got the setup they were looking for. On this occasion, it was Demidov with his stick in the air for a one-timer from Hutson.
Lane Hutson to Ivan Demidov, and we're all tied up at two. Keep these two on the top unit.
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) January 15, 2026 at 8:57 PM
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- Demidov being a shooting threat is critical for that unit. That should open up more for Caufield if Demidov starts doing that regularly.
- That pass was the 100th assist of Hutson’s career, in game number 132. He also has five assists in five post-season matches.
- Fowler has to make a couple of saves on point-blank chances as Buffalo’s top line is forcing its way to the net.
- Montreal was pretty handily outplayed in the period, and is probably lucky to leave it tied. Without Fowler’s strong play, Buffalo might have a handful of goals, so the score could have been about 5-3 (counting Texier’s bar-down-out shot) going into the intermission.
Second period
- A much better start to the second period has them in Buffalo’s zone for a couple of shifts. Zachary Bolduc gets hooked as he tries to carry the puck up the ice for a third one, and the Habs are back on the power play.
- The Sabres are paying particular attention to Caufield, so he rotates high and opens things up down low. Suzuki gets the Sabres’ heads swinging with a pass back to Hutson in the high slot, and the defenceman tests Ellis with a shot that spills a rebound. Suzuki fights through a stick check and gets just enough force on the puck to hit the net as Ellis can’t recover from the initial shot.
Nick Suzuki gets a Lane Hutson rebound, and the #Habs are up 3-2.
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) January 15, 2026 at 9:30 PM
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- That’s two power-play goals apiece for these teams now.
- Arber Xhekaj and Jason Zucker run into each other as the Sabres try to cross the blue line, and Zucker needs some attention on the ice.
- Montreal is playing an excellent second period here despite not having control of the matchup. Surely the Sabres aren’t out of steam already, but they’ve done nothing.
- And then they score. Their top line can do that. Alexandre Carrier gives Thompson way too much respect and just lets him walk into the slot and make a pass. Tuch finishes it off to tie the game, giving Thompson his third primary point of the contest.
- Bowen Byram and Mike Matheson get into a kerfuffle behind the play in Montreal’s zone. They will both sit for roughing.
- At some point we really need to dive into why some coincidental minors lead to a four-on-four situation, as this one did, and others leave the game at five-on-five. It seems completely random.
- Not many major errors in that period from Montreal, which is the important part to limit these Sabres.
- The goal of this game was to at least have it tied after 40 minutes to take advantage of Buffalo’s fatigue in the third period, so the Canadiens have executed that well so far. They’ll need some contained aggression to push for offence in the final 20 minutes and go for a win in regulation.
Third period
- The period begins with a slapshot from Alexandre Texier off the ankle of Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres’ captain is hobbled, but stays on the bench.
- Phillip Danault goes off for a trip in the offensive zone. That’s not part of the plan.
- Fowler makes two very calm saves with no rebounds, and Montreal kills off a penalty for the first time tonight.
- A fourth point and second goal for Thompson. Danault was too nonchalant on a zone exit then was tripped up on his second attempt, and the Sabres pounced to make it 4-3.
- Brendan Gallagher and Jordan Greenway go to the box for roughing.
- Montreal is not doing nearly enough to put pressure on Buffalo in this period.
- And now Kapanen is going off for tripping Thompson.
- Thompson fires the puck off the crossbar.
- Montreal can’t get anywhere near the puck on this penalty kill. They look like the team that played last night.
- Ellis comes out to play the puck and loses it 25 feet from his crease. Three different Habs players have chances as he recovers, but can’t score.
- Now Montreal is beginning to push with the penalty over and eight minutes to go.
- Hutson leads a two-on-one with Gallagher, but loses the puck before he makes a play.
- Thompson completes his hat trick into the empty net, and puts a bow on a bad period for Montreal.
- The Sabres pull to within three points of Montreal. They were the better team in this game.
- Montreal now heads to Ottawa on Saturday to play the Senators. That needs to be a win after three losses in the last four games.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) The story of the game
2) It’s a waste of a mobile defence to not have them challenge attackers
1) Might as well get her started early
