The Buffalo Sabres secured a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday, narrowing the gap to two points behind their division rivals for third place in the Atlantic Division. The win marked another strong performance during a stretch in which Buffalo has gone 17-3-1, including a 10-2-0 record on the road.
Forward Beck Malenstyn commented on the intensity of the matchup, stating, “I think coming into a sold-out Bell Centre is as close to a playoff game as you’re going to get in the regular season. … When they get a little momentum, it’s a hostile environment. And I think it’s a great lesson for us, how we eventually weathered that storm in that game.”
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen also noted the atmosphere: “It’s fun to come into this building and take points away.”
Jason Zucker opened scoring just 44 seconds into the game. The Sabres are now 20-3-1 when scoring first this season. Later in the first period, Malenstyn scored shorthanded, bringing his total to four goals this season and helping Buffalo tie for the NHL lead with seven shorthanded goals.
“It’s nice when those go in, but for me, it’s just trying to play a consistent game every night,” Malenstyn said. “I’d love to sprinkle a few more honest ones that bounce off my leg or something in front of the net, too.”
Zach Benson extended Buffalo’s lead early in the second period with help from Konsta Helenius, who recorded his third primary assist in two games.
Montreal responded with goals from Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki during an intense second period where Montreal outshot Buffalo 15-3. Luukkonen made key saves to maintain Buffalo’s lead heading into intermission.
Coach Lindy Ruff praised his team’s composure late in the game: “I thought we played a rock-solid third period where we maybe gave up one chance in a one-goal game, which I’ve got to give our guys a lot of credit for – just locking back into our game.”
Peyton Krebs sealed the win with an empty-net goal late in regulation. Ruff referred to Krebs as “the specialist,” adding: “… Most of them have been from the other side of center, and he’s hit the net.”
Malenstyn emphasized how crucial these games are given tight playoff races: “It’s a great challenge for us to just know that, every single game, we’re gonna get the other team’s best, and you can’t take anybody lightly. Hopefully, we stay on that path and we can find ourselves in a playoff spot when the dust settles. And I think every team that gets in coming out of the East is gonna be extremely well prepared.”
Luukkonen finished with 32 saves on 34 shots and has posted a .922 save percentage over his last ten games. As Zucker noted after the win: “I thought he was phenomenal the entire night; he made some great saves for us. We lose that game without UPL tonight.” Since December 9th, Buffalo leads all NHL teams with an overall .917 save percentage.
Physical play was present throughout much of Thursday’s contest. Zucker received attention for an early high hit while Zachary Bolduc elbowed Benson later in play; both teams navigated after-the-whistle incidents without escalating tensions further.
Defenseman Jacob Bryson left due to an upper-body injury and is expected to miss time according to Ruff. In response, Bowen Byram logged significant minutes (27:21), while Owen Power set his own season high (26:26). Ruff remarked about Byram: “He’s got a big engine… We leaned on him pretty heavy tonight, but he’s able to handle it.”
The Sabres will continue their road trip Saturday afternoon against another Eastern Conference opponent, facing off against the New York Islanders.
