The Montreal Canadiens are no longer in the Eastern Conference basement, and they have the struggling Buffalo Sabres to thank. Not only did the Canadiens rout the Sabres 6-1 on Tuesday at the Bell Centre, on the strength of a Patrik Laine hat trick, but the Sabres, now having lost 11 games in a row, have taken the Habs’ place at the bottom of the standings.
The Sabres in effect made the rebuilding Canadiens look good. Dominating early and often, the Habs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Joel Armia scored just 11 seconds in. Approximately five minutes later, Laine seemingly added to the lead with what was initially called a goal, but was eventually called back as video review revealed the puck had never actually gone in, hitting just the post instead.
No matter. It’s safe to say Laine got the final word on this night.
Laine Makes History with Canadiens
Laine ended up actually scoring soon thereafter at 6:26 of the opening frame, with Zach Benson in the box for holding. It was his fourth goal in seven games since debuting earlier this month after missing the first few months of the season due to a knee injury suffered in the preseason.
Related: Projected Lineups for the Sabres vs Canadiens – 12/17/24
If there had been any doubt Laine would be able to regain his scoring touch, he has erased it with his performance since debuting with the Canadiens following his offseason acquisition from the Columbus Blue Jackets. And it turns out he was just getting started against the Sabres. Laine added two more power-play goals to make it six goals in seven games this season, each amazingly coming on the power play. According to broadcaster RDS, that makes him the first Habs player in history to accomplish the admittedly off-centre feat, scoring his first six goals in a Canadiens uniform on the man advantage.
Sabres forward Dylan Cozens cut the lead to 2-1 early in the second. However, Juraj Slafkovsky sapped any momentum the Sabres had earned by banking a shot off Sabres starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from behind the net to regain the two-goal lead a few minutes later. Laine then made it 4-1 on a two-man advantage, Cozens seconds later gifting the Canadiens yet another with a delay-of-game penalty. Laine completed the hat trick on the subsequent power play.
By the end of the night, the Canadiens, who have made getting outshot an art form this season, held a distinct 27-21 edge in that category, having dominated the Sabres. Goalie Sam Montembeault handily outplayed Luukkonen, who got pulled to start the third. James Reimer was perfect in his one period of work, but, with 12 different Canadiens having hit the scoresheet ahead of time, it meant very little to the game’s outcome.
The attention of the 12-16-3 Canadiens now turns to the Detroit Red Wings, who are the next team above them in standings, one point separating them. They play each other in a home-and-home series starting Friday in Detroit and ending Saturday in Montreal. Meanwhile, the 11-17-4 Sabres host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday in the hopes of snapping their streak.
