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An Ugly Start | RECAP: MTL @ BUF

Rick Stephens

Montreal Canadiens vs Buffalo Sabres, Game Recap: Habs, Line-up, Score, Statistics, Highlights, Post-game, Interviews, NHL, Three-Stars

FINAL | Game 2, Away Game 2 | Thursday October 14, 2021
KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY

CANADIENS

Montreal

1-5

SABRES

Buffalo
Canadiens vs Sabres (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines

Tyler Toffoli – Nick Suzuki – Cole Caufield

Jonathan Drouin – Christian Dvorak – Josh Anderson

Joel Armia – Jake Evans – Brendan Gallagher

Mathieu Perreault – Cedric Paquette – Artturi Lehkonen

Defence pairings

Brett Kulak – Jeff Petry

Ben Chiarot – David Savard

Alexander Romanov – Chris Wideman

Goaltenders

Sam Montembeault – Jake Allen

Scratches

Alex Belzile, Adam Brooks

Injuries

Joel Edmundson (undisclosed), Carey Price (player assistance program), Paul Byron (hip), Mike Hoffman (lower-body), Mattias Norlinder (lower-body), Sami Niku (concussion), Shea Weber (multiple injuries)

Game Report

The 2021-’22 Montreal Canadiens, supposedly well-stocked with offensive firepower — Cole Caufield, Tyler Toffoli, Jonathan Drouin, Josh Anderson, Nick Suzuki, Christian Dvorak, Brendan Gallagher (and Mike Hoffman, out of the lineup for now) — have scored two goals in two games so far this season.

It’s not a surprise that the Habs have issues in their own end; that was expected with Shea Weber and Joel Edmundson out of the lineup. But it was hoped that with the makeup of the team, the Canadiens would outscore their mistakes.

The problems begin at even strength. Against a team expected to be one of the worst in the NHL, Montreal managed just two high danger scoring chances while 5-on-5. Even the 40-year-old Craig Anderson could handle a workload like that.

It’s only two games into the season, but it’s not too early to say that the Habs power-play is a mess. The Canadiens went 0-for-4 including a half a minute with a two-man advantage.

Missing their Superman

Carey Price is certainly capable of hiding a lot of warts. His cast of backups cannot. None of them looked good in the pre-season. Jake Allen can’t handle a full number one load and Cayden Primeau needs lots of game experience (two more full seasons) in Laval. That left the net for Sam Montembeault, a career AHL goaltender, who was beaten cleanly on some stoppable shots.

But this result was not the fault of the goaltender.

Expect the Canadiens to look like a completely different team on Saturday night for their home opener. The Habs will be pumped to perform in front of a full house at the Bell Centre.

That won’t mean that the problems have been solved. This team will have the fans riding a rollercoaster all season long. Fans must hope that there are more hills than valleys. 

Up Next

The Canadiens headed home following the game to get ready for their home opener against the Rangers on Saturday night.

Plus

▲  Artturi Lehkonen, Chris Wideman, Joel Armia

Minus

▼  Sam Montembeault, Jonathan Drouin, Christian Dvorak, Cedric Paquette, Cole Caufield, Josh Anderson, Alexander Romanov, Brett Kulak, Jeff Petry, Ben Chiarot

The Numbers

Game Statistics
CANADIENS   SABRES
31 Shots 36
47 Face-off % 53
0-for-4 Power Play 3-for-6
12 Penalty Minutes 8
18 Hits 9
36 Corsi For 40
Scoring Summary
FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
Canadiens (0-2-0) 0 1 0 – – 1
Sabres (1-0-0) 2 2 1 – – 5
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: Wideman (1)
  • BUF: Okposo (1)-PPG, Girgensons (1), Olofsson (1)-PPG, Bjork (1), Thompson (1)-PPG
  • MTL: Montembeault (L) (0-1-0)
  • BUF: Anderson (W) (1-0-0)

Stars of the Game

Three Stars
  1. Kyle Okposo  BUF
  2. Zemgus Girgensons  BUF
  3. Craig Anderson  BUF

Watch

Video Highlights

What Did They Say?

Post-game Quotes

Dominique Ducharme

  • “It’s been three months since (the Canadiens’ players) have been told that they are good and beautiful, that they are extraordinary. At some point, it’s like telling your child not to get his hands on the stove, he will eventually try it to really understand it.”
  • “We had talked about it and we were aware of it, but it is also human nature. Sometimes you have to get a float behind your head to wake up.”
  • “Especially in the first half, we were bad in all aspects, including the level of competition. We did not display our team identity.”

Brendan Gallagher

  • “To be successful, we have to be alert and limit our opponents’ time and space with the puck. Tonight, we were not difficult to face. [The Sabres] probably had a lot of fun playing against us.”

Jeff Petry

  • “We need to simplify things. We must first focus on our zone entrances to be able to settle down. Then you have to move the puck and open up the shooting lines.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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