Sabres start slow, lose a shot at points in 4-2 loss at Montreal
The Buffalo Sabres lost an Atlantic Division game to the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2, on Monday at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
The Buffalo Sabres had a 4-on-4 opportunity late in the third period, and they couldn’t capitalize on the extra ice.
They created scoring chances at the doorstep of the Montreal Canadiens’ goal in the second and third periods, including 12 of their 16 high-danger chances, according to NaturalStatTrick.
They finally broke through a persistent Canadiens forecheck that created scoring chances from the start of the game, and found ways to maintain and extend possession in the Sabres’ defensive zone, whether it was making crisp passes or extending their reach to keep pucks inside the blue line.
Buffalo Sabres' Jiri Kulich (20) scores on Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes (75) during second period NHL hockey action in
Montreal, Quebec, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP
The Sabres also got another passing fancy from Zach Benson, who now has six assists in his first three games of the season, and is one of three Sabres since 2012 to open with six assists in the first three games of the season, joining Jack Eichel (2020-21) and Thomas Vanek (2012-13).
But Jiri Kulich summed up the shortcomings of his team in a 4-2 loss to the Canadiens on Monday at the Bell Centre.
“We had more mistakes than them, and that cost us,” the Sabres’ top-line center said.
The Canadiens stifled the Sabres’ start Monday night. Montreal outshot the Sabres 14-6 and led 1-0 after the first period, on Oliver Kapanen’s 8:29 into the game.
“They were reading us very well, in our game plan,” Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin said of the Canadiens, who have opened the season by winning five of their first seven games. “They were on top of us, the whole time. They kind of knew our structure. They played through it, so they came out smart. They came out good. But in the second and third, we kind of put our foot on the gas and changed a little bit, created more.”
The Sabres made up ground in the second, as Kulich tied the game at 1-1 on a backhand shot from the slot at 6:51, off a pass from Zach Benson, but the Canadiens answered in the third by scoring three of the game’s final four goals, even as Tyson Kozak cut Montreal’s lead to 3-2 with 7:30 left in the third, 52 seconds after Lane Hutson scored the eventual game-winner to make it 3-1.
“Youre in a tight game, and we didn’t defend the rush well on the second goal (by Montreal), and we got caught with a couple tired people on the third one,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “I liked our answer, right after that, to come back and score. We had another couple good looks, but we’re in a tight game and we didn’t find a way to win.”
Perhaps the best chance to tie the game – and forge a path to overtime and at least a point – came with 4:44 left in the third. Buffalo wing Tage Thompson and Montreal wing Juraj Slafkovsky were each assessed roughing penalties after a scrum broke out to the behind Sabres goalie Alex Lyon (27 saves), after Thompson stepped in to defend Dahlin, who was cross-checked from behind by Cole Caufield, then punched in the back of the head by Slafkovsky.
That turned into four-on-four hockey. The Canadiens didn’t score, but neither did the Sabres, who put only one shot on goal in those two minutes of extra space on the ice.
“It (would) be really important, but at the same time, if they didn’t score, that would be great, too,” Kulich said.
Once the penalties to Thompson and Slafkovsky expired, it likely cost the Sabres a prime chance at tying the game and getting at least a point out of their third consecutive Atlantic Division game.
“We were trying to get an extra man out there, to kind of play on the power play, but they did a good job,” said Dahlin, who had the secondary assist on Kozak’s goal. “They played a solid third, and you’ve got to give credit to them. But next game, we know what we’re doing against them.”
The Canadiens and Sabres don’t meet again until Jan. 15, at KeyBank Center. Until then, the Sabres have to look closer ahead at continuing a stretch in which they face three more Atlantic Division teams in the next five days.
They host Detroit at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Toronto at 7:30 p.m. Friday at KeyBank Center, then are scheduled to play at 7 p.m. Saturday at Toronto, barring a change in time due to a potential overlap with the Blue Jays hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the World Series, which is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. that night at Rogers Centre in Toronto.