‘A win is a win,’ Alzner says after beating lowly Sabres
Karl Alzner was on the ice when the horn sounded to end Friday night’s game between the Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres and his first thought was to retrieve the puck.
He thought goaltender Antti Niemi might want the puck as a souvenir of the 3-0 shutout win, but he didn’t realize it was the veteran Finn’s first shutout since Dec. 22, 2015, when he helped the Dallas Stars beat the Chicago Blackhawks.
“I was lucky that I was out there and I know some goalies like to have the puck (after a big game) and he told me that. It’s hard to believe, as good a goalie as he is, that it’s the case, so it’s nice to be part of it. It’s good for this team to get a game like that.”
Niemi’s record improved to 6-44, but that doesn’t tell the entire story. He has a 2.25 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage. Those are elite numbers, but all too often, he hasn’t received the offensive support on nights when he’s stood on his head.
That could have been the case Friday night. Another Finn, Artturi Lehkonen, scored in the second period and that stood as the only goal until Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher supplied empty-net goals late in the third.
Lehkonen, who dealt with injuries and a ton of bad luck, has 10 goals on the season and five in his last eight games and said he was happy to back up Niemi’s effort.
“Nemo came through again,” Lehkonen said. He described Niemi as low-key to the point where he only learned recently they share a hometown in Finland.
Alzner said Niemi sets an example for his teammates with his work ethic.
“You see him working in the gym, doing the right things,” Alzner said. “He always wants to learn. The same thing in practice and games. He always wants to battle and (a) that’s the way you need to be and (b) it’s something you love to see as a teammates. We’ve had a tough road lately and it’s good to see him get the shutout.”
There was a definite lack of intensity in this game, but the Canadiens turned it up enough to complete a sweep of the four-game season series against the Sabres. It was only the 10th road win in 38 games for Montreal.
“We’re all extremely competitive,” Alzner said. “We want to win. you want to be good on the road. In our own building, we’re going to find ways to win even when we’re not at our best, but how you play on the road is what separates the teams and it hurt us a lot.
“I know we’re playing Buffalo and they’re in the same boat as us, but a win is a win,” Alzner said.
Niemi, who made 35 saves, gave his teammates credit for keeping the play on the outside, but there were some scary moments in the third period when back-to-back penalties to Nikita Scherbak and Lehkonen gave the Sabres a 5-on3 advantage for 66 seconds. Buffalo had five shots on goal during the dual penalties, but the worst penalty-killing unit in the NHL emerged unscathed.
“We haven’t been great on the kill lately so it was nice we were able to see the plays and watch them unfold,” Alzner said. “(Assistant coach J.J. Daigneault) gave us a heads-up right before we went out there on what they like to do and that helped us a lot.”