On Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens will try to get things back on track after a brutal 5-4 loss Wednesday to the Washington Capitals, when hosting the Buffalo Sabres for the second time this week.
When the teams met earlier this week, Montreal built a 3-1 lead heading into the third period before Buffalo rallied with a pair of goals to tie it. The game went past overtime and into a shootout, where the Canadiens came away with the narrow win. It was Montreal's fifth victory in its last seven meetings with Buffalo, and the Canadiens will look for another.
The game also gave star winger Cole Caufield a chance to bounce back as he entered the contest with just two points through his first five games, but in a matchup he normally loves, he finished with a goal and an assist. He now carries history into Saturday, with points in eight of his last nine games against the Sabres, totaling nine goals and five assists for 14 points.
Stretching back further, he has 11 goals and seven assists for 18 points over his last 16 meetings with Buffalo. The 25-year-old Wisconsin native is coming off a career year in which he scored 51 goals and added 37 assists for 88 points in 81 games.
Surprisingly, despite Tuesday's loss, Buffalo still holds a razor-thin historical edge over Montreal in the all-time series, leading 138-122-14 with 31 ties and will look to hold off a Canadiens' offense that has come back to life lately.
Both Teams Searching for Defensive Answers
After scoring 14 goals through their first five games, they have recorded eight over their last two. The defense remains an issue, however with Montreal having allowed 27 goals through their first seven games, tying for the sixth-most in the league with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have played an extra game.
The Canadiens’ defense finished in the middle of the pack last season at 3.06 goals against per game, and that number improved slightly to 2.95 in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Strengthening the back end was a focal point heading into this season, yet it still hasn’t worked out that way.
Buffalo, meanwhile, is coming off a season in which it ended a 14-year playoff drought and won its first playoff series since 2007. The Sabres have started more slowly than they would have liked, dropping three of their first five games, but they have rebounded to win two of their last three, including victories over the Florida Panthers and the Maple Leafs.
Like Montreal, Buffalo's offense started cold, with 11 goals through its first five games. In its last three, the team more than doubled that pace, scoring 13 goals. Also like Montreal, the Sabres have a problem on the back end, allowing the fifth-most goals in the league so far this season with 29 in eight games.
With both teams struggling to keep the puck out of their own net, Saturday could turn into another high-event game. A breakout night from Caufield could further expose the Sabres' defense and give the Canadiens exactly what they need to keep stacking wins in key divisional matchups.
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