(Montreal) One of the Canadiens’ old pet peeves put on a show Thursday evening at the Bell Center.
Jeff Skinner had a goal and three assists and the Buffalo Sabers defeated the Montreal team 6-1.
Skinner now has 26 goals and 20 assists in 41 career games against the Canadian. His 46 points represent a high for him against an NHL team.
The Canadian, who was back in front of his fans after a streak of seven games abroad, nevertheless obtained his share of chances against the Sabres, but he perhaps lacked a little opportunism before seeing his indiscipline the to flow.
The Sabers scored twice on the power play in the second period.
Joel Armia scored the only goal for the Canadian (16-17-5) while shorthanded. Jake Allen made 32 saves.
Tage Thompson had two goals and an assist, while Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Dahlin and Jack Quinn each had a goal and an assist for the Sabers (16-19-4). Alex Tuch had two assists and Montrealer Devon Levi made 32 saves in his first career start at the Bell Centre.
The Canadian will play his next game on Saturday, when the New York Rangers are the visitors at the Bell Centre.
A good show, but…
The first period was lively as 28 shots on goal were taken, including 15 by the Canadian.
Levi frustrated Jesse Ylönen three times in quick succession with his right pad. The referees reviewed the sequence, but video officials confirmed that the puck never crossed the goal line.
At the other end of the ice, Allen was lucky twice. He was beaten by long shots from JJ Peterka and Henri Jokiharju, but the puck hit the red frame of the net each time.
Armia beat Levi 2:06 into the second period, but Sabers head coach Don Granato contested the goal and won. Replays showed that Michael Pezzetta made contact with Levi just before Armia shot and the goal was canceled.
The Canadian’s indiscipline then opened the door to the Sabres.
Mittelstadt opened the scoring at 5:33, while David Savard was in the cell for a stick against Peterka, who had escaped. Mittelstadt was forgotten at the mouth of the net and took advantage of a cross pass from Skinner to score.
Skinner widened the gap at 6:59, while Mitchell Stephens was in the penalty box for an obstruction gesture in the offensive zone. Skinner also beat Allen after receiving a cross pass, this time from Tuch.
The Habs were punished again when Pezzetta tripped Mattias Samuelsson. This time, he took the opportunity to reduce the gap to just one goal.
Armia stole the puck from Dahlin at the Sabers blue line, then beat Levi with a good wrist shot from the glove side at 13:19.
Levi prevented the Canadian from tying the score before the end of the period. With the home club on the power play, Sabers goaltender Josh Anderson frustrated on a point-blank shot.
The Sabers controlled the game at the start of the third period and managed to widen the gap at 6:45. Quinn surprised Allen on the shield side after accepting a back pass from Peterka.
Thompson dealt a big blow by scoring again for the Sabers at 8:35. Skinner came back from behind the net and tried to get around Allen. Thompson just had to push the loose puck behind the goal line.
The Canadian tried everything by pulling out his goalie with 5:35 left on the clock. However, the Sabers won the faceoff in their zone, then Dahlin showed precision on his release, finding the empty back of the net on a shot from one end of the ice to the other.
Skinner continued to turn the iron in the wound by setting the table for Thompson for the Sabres’ sixth goal with 1:28 left on the clock.