Lance Lysowski
MONTRÈAL - For a brief moment Monday night, the crowd in Bell Centre went silent.
Tage Thompson, the Sabres' leading goal scorer, hammered a 99 mph one-timer over the right shoulder of Montreal Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault to cut Buffalo's deficit to one goal in the third period.
The Sabres were one step closer to overcoming another ugly start.
They had a failed power play and killed another penalty before Rasmus Dahlin helped them send the game to overtime when the captain scored a goal with 1:01 remaining in regulation.
It only got the Sabres one point, though. Mike Matheson scored in overtime to send the Canadiens to a 4-3 victory.
The Sabres (24-29-6) have lost four of their last six games, and they are 4-13-1 on the road since their three-game California sweep in November. The Canadiens (30-26-5) extended their win streak to five games, and they went 4-0 against Buffalo this season.
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The game was similar to the Sabres' loss in Carolina last Thursday, when they fell behind 3-1 in the first period. The Canadiens led 3-0 only 13:42 into the game Monday night. They scored twice on the power play and once shorthanded. Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal apiece. James Reimer stopped 16 of 20 shots for Buffalo.
The Sabres didn't cut into the Canadiens' lead until late in the second period, when Alex Tuch deposited a rebound past Montembeault with 1:53 remaining. Buffalo had a chance to complete the comeback, but its special teams were at the center of the loss. Its power play went 0-for-4 and allowed a shorthanded goal, and the penalty kill gave up two goals in the first period.
Sabres winger Jason Zucker missed a third consecutive game with a lower-body injury, while defenseman Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju were healthy scratches. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start in goal Tuesday when Buffalo hosts the San Jose Sharks.
First period
* Sabres center Dylan Cozens went after a Canadiens player for whacking at Reimer after the whistle. Canadiens winger Josh Anderson put Cozens in a headlock, dragged him toward the end boards and threw a punch. Cozens was the only one to receive a roughing penalty 1:57 into the game.
* The Sabres killed the penalty with help from defenseman Connor Clifton, who dropped to the ice to prevent a backdoor pass. Reimer made a save on the only shot that he faced.
* Peterka's wrister from the high slot went off Montembeault's glove.
* Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram took a slashing penalty with 8:22 into the first period. A scrum broke out at the whistle, as Rasmus Dahlin went after Canadiens center Jake Evans.
* The Canadiens took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Caufield with 10:18 left in the first period. Owen Power lost coverage at the far post when Suzuki set up Caufield with a seam pass from the right circle.
* The Sabres got a power play when two Canadiens went after Dahlin for his shove on Brendan Gallagher at the whistle with 8:19 left in the first period.
* Alex Tuch took the puck to the front of the net for a scoring chance, but Cozens' shot was blocked and he was held along the wall as the Canadiens went the other way for a 2-on-1 rush. Mike Matheson passed to Suzuki, whose low shot went past Reimer to make it 2-0 with 8:19 left in the first period.
* Dahlin's interference penalty put the Canadiens back on the power play with 7:03 remaining. Montreal scored when Slafkovsky's cross-slot pass bounced off Clifton and went past Reimer for a 3-0 lead with 6:18 to go.
* Peterka's tripping penalty in the offensive zone put the Canadiens back on the power play with 5:36 remaining, but the Sabres killed it off by pressuring Montreal into mistakes.
* Dahlin had a shot from the point tipped, but Montembeault made the save to keep the Canadiens ahead 3-0.
Second period
* The Canadiens and Sabres traded chances early in the period, capped by Zach Benson directing the puck a few inches wide of the post.
* Peterka's backdoor pass from the right circle to the far post went off Sam Lafferty's skate, sending the puck a few inches wide of the net.
* Canadiens winger Alex Newhook skated into Reimer, earning Montreal a goaltender interference penalty with 15:50 remaining.
* The Sabres' first power-play unit created multiple scoring chances with smart passes - including two shots from the slot by Jack Quinn - but they didn't score.
* Reimer stopped Arber Xhekaj's breakaway with less than eight minutes left in the second period. The Sabres had 20 shots on goal when they went to the power play with 5:28 remaining.
* The Sabres spoiled Montembeault's shutout bid with 1:53 remaining in the second period, as Tuch capitalized on a rebound to score his 23rd goal of the season and slash Buffalo's deficit to 3-1. Dennis Gilbert made a tape-to-tape breakout pass to Cozens, who created the rebound by driving to the net.
* Buffalo had 14 shots on goal in the second period and, according to Natural Stat Trick, it had 12 high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5.
Third period
* Thompson silenced the crowd when he hammered a one-timer from behind the left circle for his 29th goal of the season, cutting the Sabres' deficit to 3-2 with 16:36 left in the third period.
* Peterka's shot from the left circle forced Montembeault to make a shoulder save 5:30 into the third period. The Sabres kept possession in the offensive zone but could not earn another scoring chance.
* Newhook tripped Clifton to put the Sabres on the power play with 10:22 left in regulation. Montembeault stopped two shots, but turnovers prevented Buffalo from scoring the tying goal.
* Slafkovsky knocked over Clifton behind the net and pass in front to Caufield, whose shot missed the net. The Canadiens kept applying pressure until Reimer froze the puck with 6:23 left in the third period.
* Dahlin's third penalty of the game gave the Canadiens a power play with 5:18 remaining in regulation. The Sabres captain set a pick in the offensive zone to earn the interference call.
* Dahlin scored his 10th goal of the season less than 30 seconds after Reimer was pulled for the extra attacker.
Lineup
Sabres coach Lindy Ruff used 12 forwards and six defensemen in the rematch. His lines and defense pairs at the start of the game:
JJ Peterka - Jiri Kulich - Tage Thompson
Jordan Greenway - Dylan Cozens - Alex Tuch
Zach Benson - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn
Beck Malenstyn - Peyton Krebs - Sam Lafferty
Bowen Byram - Rasmus Dahlin
Jacob Bryson - Owen Power
Dennis Gilbert - Connor Clifton
Next
The Sabres host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night. They're back on the road Thursday to face the Tampa Bay Lightning, and their trip ends Saturday with a meeting against the Florida Panthers.
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