The Buffalo Sabres seem to be finding their rhythm after starting the season with a three-game losing streak. Now, with two wins tucked away thanks to strong all-around efforts, they aim to make it three in a row when they visit the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.
Buffalo sputtered out of the gate, getting outscored 10-2 in the three losses and going 0-for-11 on the power play. The Sabres snapped out of the funk Wednesday, erupting for eight goals to dispatch the Ottawa Senators 8-4. They followed that up with a 3-0 triumph against the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
And they’ve come alive with the man advantage, too. After a perfect 3-for-3 night against Ottawa, the Sabres scored twice on four opportunities against the Panthers and entered Sunday’s schedule tied for sixth in the NHL with a 27.8% success rate.
New Sabre Josh Doan delivered both power-play tallies against Florida, his first two goals of the season. He was on the doorstep of the crease for both goals, an area that has been a struggle for Buffalo at times over the past few seasons.
Doan had three assists against the Senators and is now tied for the lead in Buffalo with five points.
“I think chaos is a strength of my game when the puck is bouncing around the net,” said Doan, who was acquired from the Utah Mammoth with Michael Kesselring in a trade that saw JJ Peterka go the other way. “That’s where I take pride in my game.”
Though the skaters have done their part, goalie Alex Lyon has been stellar since the first game.
The veteran, who became the starter with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen sidelined since the preseason with a lower-body injury, has put up a .929 save percentage and 2.43 goals-against average.
“I’ve been feeling pretty good,” Lyon said. “I just try to give the team a chance to win. That’s my mindset, especially given the workload here. I kind of knew a couple days before the season what was shaping up. So maybe it was easier to mentally prepare for it that way.”
Montreal enters Monday’s tilt looking to bounce back after its four-game winning streak was snapped Saturday with a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers. The Canadiens jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes of the game. The Rangers got on the board midway through the frame and then scored three times in just over five minutes early in the third to go ahead.
“I have to be better,” goalie Samuel Montembeault said. “That’s two games now that things are going well after two periods, but I gave up two goals (in the third on Tuesday) and three (in the third on Saturday).”
The Canadiens have allowed 18 goals through six games thus far, 12th most in the NHL as of Sunday.
On the other end, they’ve scored 21 goals, the fourth-highest in the league. Five of those have come from Cole Caufield, who scored the overtime winner in each of their last two wins. Zack Bolduc started strong with a goal in three consecutive games but has been kept off the scoresheet in the last three contests.
