The Canadiens are probably still shaking their heads after Thursday night’s 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres - a game where they dominated in shots but couldn’t translate that pressure into goals. It marked the second time in as many weeks that Montreal fell to Buffalo, and this one stung a little more, coming on home ice at the Bell Centre.
Let’s start with the numbers: Montreal outshot Buffalo 34-17. That kind of shot disparity usually spells success, or at least a more favorable scoreboard. But in this case, it was the Sabres who made their chances count, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back.
Samuel Montembeault had a night he’ll want to forget. The Canadiens’ netminder gave up three goals on the first nine shots he faced, including one on the very first shot of the game. He finished with just 13 saves on 17 attempts - not the kind of performance Montreal needed, especially against a Sabres team that’s been heating up.
The tone was set just 44 seconds into the game when Jason Zucker beat Montembeault to open the scoring. That early punch seemed to rattle Montreal, and they never fully recovered.
Later in the first, with the Canadiens on the power play and a chance to even things up, things unraveled further. Beck Malenstyn turned on the jets, blew past Noah Dobson, and beat Montembeault short-handed to make it 2-0 - a backbreaker of a goal with just four seconds left on the man advantage.
That sequence summed up the night for the Habs: plenty of effort, but not enough execution.
Head coach Martin St. Louis didn’t shake up the lineup, sticking with Jayden Struble over Arber Xhekaj for the second straight game.
Struble logged just over nine minutes of ice time and finished a minus-2. It’s clear the coaching staff is still evaluating what mix works best on the blue line, especially in games like this where defensive lapses proved costly.
Despite the loss, there were some positives for Montreal - the shot volume, for one, showed the team was generating chances. But as any coach will tell you, it’s not just about quantity.
It’s about quality, and more importantly, finishing. The Sabres didn’t need many looks to do their damage, and that efficiency made all the difference.
For the Canadiens, it’s another tough lesson in a season full of them. They’ll need to regroup quickly, tighten up defensively, and get more from their goaltending if they want to flip the script the next time these two teams meet.