Zachary Bolduc delivered again in the tiebreaker, scoring the deciding goal as the Montreal Canadiens outlasted the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout at Bell Centre on Tuesday.
After Cole Caufield and Alexandre Texier converted Montreal’s first two shootout attempts, Bolduc beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen through the legs to finish it. Tage Thompson scored on Buffalo’s opening try, but Jacob Fowler denied Jack Quinn on the Sabres’ next chance to set up Bolduc’s winner.
It was the second straight game-winning shootout goal for Bolduc. He had supplied the only goal in a six-round shootout against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
Canadiens build lead before Buffalo rally
Montreal moved to 3-2-1 with Lane Hutson and Caufield each posting a goal and an assist. Juraj Slafkovsky contributed two assists, while Fowler made 14 saves in his third consecutive start.
Buffalo, coming off a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Monday, fell to 3-3-1 despite a late third-period push. Olen Zellweger scored twice, his first two-goal NHL game in 170 appearances, and Luukkonen stopped 35 shots. Mattias Samuelsson and Beck Malenstyn each recorded two assists.
Zellweger opened the scoring 2:16 into the first period when his shot from the left point struck Canadiens defenseman Adam Engstrom’s glove on the way through. It was Zellweger’s first goal since Buffalo acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks on June 26.
The Canadiens answered on a two-man advantage at 14:28 of the opening period. Hutson fired from the point over Luukkonen’s left shoulder, with Phillip Danault stationed in front to take away the goaltender’s view.
Luukkonen made one of the night’s sharpest stops earlier in the first, sliding across with his glove to rob Josh Anderson on a two-on-one chance created by Chris Kreider.
Caufield put Montreal ahead 1:19 into the second, hammering Slafkovsky’s pass from the left circle past Luukkonen on the stick side. Anderson extended the margin to 3-1 at 19:10, finishing from the left circle after Hutson carried through the right side of the slot and slipped a backhand feed across.
Sabres erase two-goal deficit
Buffalo needed just 61 seconds early in the third period to get even.
Josh Norris started the comeback at 4:24, sending a shot from high in the slot that deflected off Engstrom’s leg and into the Montreal net. Zellweger followed at 5:25, firing through traffic; the puck caught Fowler’s right arm and crossed the line for the 3-3 goal.
Montreal nearly ended it before overtime, but Luukkonen stopped Danault’s deflected chance from close range with five seconds left in regulation.
Injury notes
Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin did not travel with the club after suffering an upper-body injury Monday. He is listed as day-to-day.
Montreal was without defenseman Mike Matheson, who remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
The game also lost linesman Ryan Daisy at 5:28 of the first period, when Buffalo forward Jiri Kulich fell onto Daisy’s left leg. Daisy required assistance leaving the ice and did not return. The remaining linesman and two referees worked the rest of the game.
