HABS DROP SEE-SAW BATTLE
Price struggles, allowing six goals
The Canadiens gave new meaning to the term bounce-back game Thursday night at the Bell Centre. Montreal battled back from a one-goal deficit four times as they took the Buffalo Sabres to overtime, but the Sabres left town with a 6-5 win when Rasmus Ristolainen scored at 1:38 of the 3-on-3 overtime. The loss marked the first time this season the Canadiens have suffered two consecutive defeats. This was a forgettable night for the goaltenders. Carey Price, who has given up at least four goals in each of his last four starts, battled the puck all night. He finished with 25 saves on 31 shots while Linus Ullmark made 27 saves on 32 shots for the Sabres before being pulled in the third period. The first period was a wild affair that saw the Sabres take the lead three times, only to have the Canadiens pull even on each occasion. Vladimir Sobotka scored his second and third goals of the season, while Conor Sheary scored the other Buffalo goal. All three goals were scored on Price’s doorstep. Coach Claude Julien challenged Sheary’s goal, claiming that former Canadien Nathan Beaulieu interfered with Price. While Beaulieu’s stick made contact with Price in the crease, the rules allow incidental contact when players are digging for a rebound and the goal was allowed. Jonathan Drouin, Matthew Peca and Andrew Shaw responded for Montreal. Drouin’s goal was the prettiest of the period as he raced to the net and redirected a pass that Max Domi threaded through the legs of Buffalo rookie defenceman Rasmus Dahlin. Peca’s first goal as a Canadien was the most resourceful effort of the night, as he skated past the goal-line and then banked the puck off goaltender Ullmark’s skate. The Canadiens missed an early opportunity on the power play. Jeff Skinner and Zemgus Girgensons took back-to-back penalties that gave Montreal a two-man advantage for 1:14. This is a situation that calls for lots of shots, but the Canadiens wasted most of the advantage passing the puck on the perimeter and managed only one. Montreal had another 5-on-3 advantage for 28 seconds in the third period and failed to get a shot on net. The power play went 0-for-5 on the night. There was more of the same in the second. Jeff Skinner scored his 10th goal on a rebound and the Canadiens tied it up when Domi set up Tomas Tatar on an odd-man rush. It was Domi’s third assist of the night. He leads the Canadiens with 19 points and he has at least one point in 11 of Montreal’s last 12 games. Deslauriers broke the cycle when he scored a short-handed goal at 18:03 of the second period to give Montreal its first lead at 5-4, but Skinner tied it up for a fifth time when he scored his second of the night and 11th of the season at 2:30 of the third period. Jack Eichel beat Phillip Danault on a defensive zone faceoff and shovelled the puck to Skinner, who was alone in front of Price.