SAME OLD STORY FOR HABS
Collapse vs. Sabres in third period
The skinny: Another third-period collapse sent the Canadiens to the 21st loss in their last 26 games as the Buffalo Sabres rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Montreal 4-2 Wednesday at the Bell Centre. Johan Larsson supplied the winning goal when he got behind defencemen Tom Gilbert and Nathan Beaulieu to tip Jake McCabe’s pass behind goaltender Mike Condon. The Sabres tied the game at 2-2 when Jamie McGinn scored a power-play goal at 7:34 of the third period. McGinn was in front of the net to tip Rasmus Ristolainen’s pass, which went through Andrei Markov’s legs. Former Canadiens captain Brian Gionta completed the scoring into an empty net.
What’s it mean: The loss dropped the Canadiens into 13th place in the Eastern Conference standings. They are tied with Philadelphia and Ottawa with 52 points each but the Flyers have four games in hand, while the Senators have played one fewer game. Montreal remains five points behind eighth-place Pittsburgh but the Penguins have three games in hand.
Same old, same old: The Sabres went more than five minutes before they managed their first shot on goal but it was a beauty as Marcus Foligno eluded the Montreal defence — Alexei Emelin should have been in front of the net — and was alone to convert a pass from Zemgus Girgensons at 5:10. It was the 27th time this season the Canadiens have surrendered the first goal, and they have come back to win only five of those games.
Net presence: Dale Weise tied the score at 1-1 when he scored a powerplay goal at 3:19 of the second period. Weise tapped in a rebound after Robin Lehner made a skate save on Max Pacioretty’s shot from the halfwall. It was Weise’s 12th goal of the season but his first since Dec. 28. P.K. Subban picked up the second assist to run his consecutive-game points streak to four games with a goal and five assists. He has at least one point in 13 of his last 15 games.
Chucky leads the way: Alex Galchenyuk gave the Canadiens their first lead at 2-1 when he scored his 12th goal of the season at 11:04 of the second period. Tomas Plekanec got the ball rolling when he won a faceoff in the Sabres’ zone and Galchenyuk did the rest. He stickhandled around Ryan O’Reilly and then put a backhander through Lehner’s pads.
Roster update: Condon made backto-back starts for the second time this season. Emelin returned to the lineup in place of Mark Barberio while Sven Andrighetto replaced Lucas Lessio, who was injured when he was clipped by Philadelphia’s Radko Gudas in his Canadiens debut Tuesday night.
Super weekend: Connor McDavid is back with the Edmonton Oilers after missing three months with a broken collarbone and the first overall pick in last June’s entry draft will make his Bell Centre debut Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, the Canadiens will face the Carolina Hurricanes, one of the teams standing between them and a playoff spot.