Tyson Kozak’s third-period goal ignited a frantic comeback push, but the Buffalo Sabres fell 4-2 to the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Monday.
The Sabres and Canadiens entered the third period tied 1-1. The Canadiens took the lead on goals from Juraj Slafkovsky and Lane Hutson, the latter of which put them ahead 3-1 with 8:12 remaining.
Kozak scored to cut the deficit in half with 7:30 left to play, after which the Sabres outshot the Canadiens 5-2. Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes kept the tying goal from crossing to put the finishing touches on a 29-save performance, including 12 high-danger stops.
Alex Lyon started for the sixth straight game for Buffalo and stopped 27 of 30 shots.
Buffalo finished the game with a 71-58 lead in shot attempts.
Montreal controlled play in the opening period, earning a 14-6 edge in shots and taking a 1-0 lead on a goal from Oliver Kapanen. Buffalo flipped the script in the second period, leading 11-4 in shots and tying the game on a goal from Jiri Kulich.
Zach Benson tallied an assist on Kulich’s goal to extend his team-leading point total to six. He’s tallied at least one point in each of his three games played after missing the start of the season with a facial injury.
Zach Metsa made his NHL debut in place of Jacob Bryson, who remained in concussion protocol after exiting Saturday’s game against Florida. Metsa skated 9:02 and had a plus-1 rating.
The loss continued a run of six straight games for the Sabres against Atlantic Division opponents. The run opened with home wins against Ottawa and Florida and continues at home against Detroit on Wednesday.
The Sabres continue their Atlantic Division run at home against the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday. Tickets are available here.
The game will be nationally televised on TNT with puck drop scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
