MONTREAL
Overtime at the Bell Centre lasted 54 seconds, and it contained the whole game in miniature: Buffalo with the chance to steal it, Montreal with the player built to end it. Cole Caufield scored his second goal of the night 54 seconds into overtime on Saturday, lifting the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres in a game the Canadiens led 3-1, nearly gave away, and then reclaimed in one rush the other way.
According to NHL.com, Caufield scored his second goal of the game 54 seconds into overtime to give Montreal the win at the Bell Centre on Saturday. According to Reuters, seconds after Josh Norris missed the net on a 3-on-1, the puck rolled down the left side and Caufield collected it to break in and beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen bar down. NHL.com described the same sequence from the other end of the ice: Caufield got a breakaway after a hard rebound off the boards of a Norris shot for Buffalo, chased down the puck at the blue line and skated in alone to score over Luukkonen's blocker-side shoulder.
The building's reaction told the rest. "It's great. These fans are amazing," Caufield said about the ovation he received during an on-ice interview after the game, according to NHL.com. "The building's electric and these moments never get old." His coach understood exactly whose stick the season keeps landing on. "I was happy it was on his stick going down there," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said, according to NHL.com.
A first period that flipped in under three minutes
Buffalo started better. According to NHL.com's scoring summary, Josh Norris opened the scoring at 8:21 of the first period, his second goal of the season, from Konsta Helenius. Reuters described the play in detail: Helenius fired a shot from the top of the right circle for a redirect by Norris, Jacob Fowler made the save, but Norris stayed with it and snapped the rebound past the goalie from the right side of the net.
Montreal answered quickly, and then answered again. According to NHL.com, Zachary Bolduc tied it 1-1 on the power play at 11:45 of the first, from Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky. Reuters reported Bolduc scored on Montreal's first shot on goal, tipping a Suzuki shot blocker side past Luukkonen. Less than three minutes later, at 14:01, Caufield made it 2-1 with his first goal of the night, from Slafkovsky and Alexandre Carrier, according to NHL.com. Reuters explained how it developed: Buffalo's Olen Zellweger went to retrieve the puck behind his own net, but Slafkovsky used his reach to poke it over to Caufield, who quickly put it short side from the left of the net.
Texier stretches the lead, Quinn answers shorthanded
The Canadiens looked in control early in the second period. According to NHL.com, Alexandre Texier made it 3-1 at 7:39 of the second, from Kaiden Guhle and Carrier. Reuters traced the goal to a faceoff win: Phillip Danault won the draw, Bolduc collected it and fed Carrier, who dished it to Guhle at the left point; Luukkonen made the save, but Texier was there to clean up the rebound and put it by the goaltender's right pad.
Buffalo's response came in the situation where it should have been least likely. According to NHL.com, Jack Quinn scored shorthanded at 9:52 of the second period, his fifth goal of the season, from Zach Benson and Mattias Samuelsson, cutting Montreal's lead to 3-2. It changed the temperature of the game. A two-goal cushion became a one-goal lead, and a Sabres team that, according to Reuters, had earned a point in three straight games coming in began to play like it again.
Thompson ties it, and Buffalo nearly wins it twice
The equalizer arrived midway through the third. According to NHL.com and Reuters, Tage Thompson tied the game 3-3 at 10:12 of the third period, left uncovered at the right of the net to receive a cross-ice pass from Josh Doan, with Jiri Kulich also assisting. Reuters noted Thompson was uncovered beside the net when Doan found him, and the Sabres had erased a 3-1 deficit on the road in a building that had been ready to celebrate early.
Buffalo had chances to finish the job in regulation and again in overtime. Reports of the game noted the Sabres went on a late power play after Slafkovsky tripped Kulich with 2:17 remaining in regulation but could not capitalize despite controlling play in Montreal's zone. Then came the overtime 3-on-1 — Norris with the look, the net available, and the shot missed. "We left quite a few plays out there," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said, according to NHL.com. "We didn't execute. I didn't think our passing was near as sharp tonight. You get that chance on the late power play, where we controlled it pretty good, missed a couple of opportunities, and get the great opportunity in overtime. We could have made them pay but instead it goes the other way and they made us."
The supporting lines, and a record that keeps growing
The winner will get the headlines, but the box score was shared. According to NHL.com and Reuters, Slafkovsky and Carrier each had two assists for Montreal, and Fowler made 23 saves. For Buffalo, Norris, Quinn and Thompson scored, and Luukkonen stopped 30 shots, according to Reuters. NHL.com reported Montreal improved to 4-3-1 and has won three of its last four, while Buffalo moved to 4-3-2 and, according to Reuters, earned a point for the fourth consecutive game. NHL.com also noted this was Montreal's second win over Buffalo in five days, following a 4-3 shootout loss for the Sabres in the same building on Tuesday.
And then there is the record. According to reports of the game, Caufield's overtime winner was his 14th regular-season overtime goal, extending his own Canadiens franchise record. NHL.com added a nickname that is beginning to stick — "Mr. Saturday Night" — noting Caufield has scored 66 goals in the 106 regular-season games he has played on that day of the week. Saturday at the Bell Centre, with a blown lead behind him and a missed 3-on-1 still echoing, he added another to the total.
Montreal's lesson is double-edged: a team that builds a 3-1 lead at home should not need overtime, and a team with Caufield in this form can survive the games when it does. Buffalo's lesson is harsher and simpler. The Sabres did almost everything required to win a road game — erased a two-goal deficit, killed the clock to a point, created the best chance of overtime — and watched the puck go the other way. Follow the NHL season in Previously's Sports section, including our report on the Golden Knights' 6-2 win over Pittsburgh, and keep up with the day's other results on the news front.
