The Buffalo Sabres held off a late push and earned a 4-2 road win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at Bell Centre. The victory completed a season sweep of a home-and-home stretch against Montreal within a one-week span and pulled the Sabres within two points of the Canadiens for third place in the Atlantic Division. Buffalo improved to 2-1-0 on its five-game road trip and 17-3-1 over its last 21 games.
The Sabres scored first and built a three-goal cushion behind tallies from Jason Zucker, Beck Malenstyn and Zach Benson, marking the second straight game Buffalo jumped out to an early lead. Montreal responded with a strong second period, outshooting Buffalo 15-3 and cutting the deficit to one on goals from Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki. Following the Canadiens’ second goal, the Sabres regrouped and tightened defensively for the remainder of the game.
Peyton Krebs sealed the victory for the second consecutive game with a long-distance empty-net goal in the final minute. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen anchored the win with 32 saves, including stopping all nine shots he faced in the third period as Buffalo protected its lead.
Buffalo played the third period without defenseman Jacob Bryson, who exited with an upper-body injury and did not return.
The Sabres continue their road trip Saturday, visiting the New York Islanders at 1 p.m.
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Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].