WINNING START FOR HABS
Newcomer Jonathan Drouin, right, quickly proved his worth, setting up Montreal’s first goal on a beautiful pass to Max Pacioretty and then scoring the shootout winner on a slick backhand move as the Canadiens won their season opener 3-2 in Buffalo.
Jonathan Drouin paid immediate dividends for the Canadiens as he scored the winning goal in a shootout to give Montreal a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres Thursday at KeyBank Center in the regular-season opener for both teams. It was a busy night for the goaltenders. Montreal’s Carey Price faced 45 shots, while the Canadiens fired 40 shots at Robin Lehner. The Montreal defence is a work in progress with three new faces in the lineup and it showed as the Sabres had far too many good looks.
Danault delivers: Phillip Danault pulled the Canadiens even at 2-2 when he scored a short-handed goal at 8:01 of the third period, Shea Weber and Karl Alzner picked up the assists on the play.
Drouin to Pacioretty: Max Pacioretty got a jump-start on another 30-goal season when he scored at 17:56 of the first period to deadlock the game at 1-1. Pacioretty scored from the right faceoff circle after taking a cross-ice pass from newcomer Drouin. The Canadiens outshot the Sabres 17-11 in the first period with a 13-5 edge when the teams were at even strength. Pacioretty, Drouin and linemate Brendan Gallagher were by far the most productive trio.
New rules: The NHL’s strict enforcement of faceoff violations and slashing came into play early in the game. Evander Kane was guilty of a faceoff violation, while Tomas Plekanec was sent off for slashing and he was in the penalty box when Repentigny native Jason Pominville scored at 8:30 of the first period to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead. Pominville, who rejoined the Sabres in an offseason trade with Minnesota, beat Price with a high backhander on the blocker side.
Encore for Pominville: The Sabres went back on top at 2-1 when Pominville scored his second goal at the 22-second mark of the second period. Jack Eichel set up Pominville, who scored from a sharp angle to the right of Price.
Close but no cigar: The Canadiens thought they had a tying goal early in the third period, when Ales Hemsky attempted to beat Lehner on a wraparound. The puck was trapped beneath Lehner and a video review failed to produce an angle that showed the puck crossing the goal-line. Specialty items: The Canadiens are using four forwards on their first power-play unit and while they didn’t score, they generated four good shots on their first advantage. Their next three opportunities weren’t as impressive. Weber’s cannon-like shot wasn’t a factor. He had no shots on goal, one blocked shot and one off target. The Sabres’ power play went 1-for-5. In addition to the shorthanded goal by Danault, the Canadiens’ penalty-killing unit turned in a yeoman effort in the second period when Buffalo enjoyed a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:18, but managed only one shot on goal.
Coming attractions: This was the first of three road games to open the season. The Canadiens are in Washington Saturday and in New York to play the Rangers Sunday.