A Winning Habit
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Habs Stay Undefeated With 7-2 Win Over Sabres

By Jessica Lyn-Saunders

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It was another history making night for the Montreal Canadiens, as they beat the Buffalo Sabres 7-2 and are now sitting at 8-0-0.

Dale Weise opened the scoring for the Habs late in the 1st period with a beautiful 2-on-1 with P.K. Subban. This was the 7th time Montreal had scored 1st this season out of 8 games. The Habs maintained their composure throughout the period despite being out-scored by the Sabres who were coming off strong early.

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Buffalo’s 1st and only power play came 5 minutes in from Alexander Semin and started off strong, but the game play was immediately taken over by Montreal who killed it off with ease. The Sabres were able to create some good scoring chances, especially with guys like Tyler Ennis taking fired up shots on Mike Condon.

Condon still stood strong between the pipes though, denying the Sabres’ offensive outbursts throughout the 20 minutes. Brian Flynn also went unnoticed taking two huge hits from Buffalo within the 1st 7 minutes, with the second hit from Cody Franson sending Flynn to the dressing room.

Their offensive bursts here and there, however, were denied by the Habs who ended with a 1-0 lead and out-shooting the Sabres 11-10.

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    • 45 seconds into the 2nd period and Brendan Gallagher picked up his 2nd goal of the year with a nice wrist shot past Chad Johnson. Despite being taken back from the goal, the Sabres were able to respond a little over 4 minutes later with Matt Moulson burying a pass from Sam Reinhart.

    Midway through the period, the Sabres ended up with another PP chances due to an awful interference call on Tomas Fleischmann. The PP led to Ryan O’Reilly tying up the score with over 9 minutes left, but Montreal’s depth pulled through andTorrey Mitchell responded 3 minutes later by tipping in Subban’s point shot, with the Habs taking back their 1 point lead back.

    Andrei Markov put the icing on the cake in the 2nd though, as just a few seconds into their 1st PP of the night his strong slapshot put the Habs at 4-2. Montreal earned their 1st PP with a roughing call on Ennis with just a little over 2 minutes left.

    The Sabres still stayed on the attack while leading in SOG and shot attempts, but Condon was staying the net master he’s been all night and stuck to playing a strong game. Another PP was given to the Habs from Josh Gorges‘ interference with Gallagher in the Montreal net, but there wasn’t enough time to finish the rest of the PP in the 2nd. The Habs ended the period 4-2.

    Oct 23, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Montreal Canadiens goalie Mike Condon (39) makes a save against the Buffalo Sabres during the second period at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

    With 1:12 left on the PP that was earned in the 2nd, Gallagher got his 2nd goal of the night 27 seconds into the 3rd period off a Max Pacioretty rebound. Buffalo tried to answer back right away, but the Habs were quick to shut down any chance for a 3rd goal for the Sabres.

    Subban’s tripping penalty 2 minutes in gave the Sabres a 3rd PP chance to catch up. They ended up with a couple of scoring chances, including Evander Kane‘s snapshot on Condon, but the Habs killed it off by keeping the puck coming back to the Buffalo zone.

    After a monster shift from David Desharnais‘ line in the O zone, the Habs ended up with another man-advantage from a delayed penalty on Franson almost at the midway mark. Despite the Habs creating many great scoring opportunities, The Sabres got on the defensive attack and killed off the PP.

    Pacioretty’s wrister from the slot made up for the lost PP with over 9 minutes left, putting the Habs on an energy high enough to kill off the Sabres PP minutes after, with Nathan Beaulieu in the box for stick holding.

    Both teams were fighting for the puck, with the Sabres desperate to make their way back up on the scoreboard. However, Weise came back with a deflected shot from Markov which put the Habs at 7-2. The Sabres were now starting to wake up with 4 minutes left of the game but were still looking slightly sluggish when it came to keeping the puck in the Montreal zone. Despite leading in shots, Buffalo just couldn’t reach that 3rd point and the Montreal Canadiens ended the game with a 5 point lead.

    Overall, this game was HUGE for Montreal. It was the 1st time in a while that we’ve seen the Habs win over the Sabres, and they were able to do it by working hard together throughout the entire game. They generated excellent offense, they took shots, they went on the attack multiple times, and they even killed a few power plays. These are the guys we should see for at least 90% of the regular season, if not 100%.

    Also, hats off to Michel Therrien. This is the 1st time in a long time that I haven’t screamed at my television. Keep it up.

    What did you think of Friday night’s game? Do you think Montreal can keep up the win streak Saturday? Let us know in the comments below!

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