Cole Caufield scored his second goal of the night 54 seconds into overtime Saturday, and the Canadiens beat the Sabres 4-3 at the Bell Centre. The AP reported that Caufield got a breakaway after Josh Norris missed his shot on a 3-on-1 rush. Sportsnet's video description adds that Norris's shot went wide and rang around the boards, which sent Caufield in alone. He beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen top shelf.
Alexandre Texier and Zachary Bolduc also scored for Montreal, and Jacob Fowler made 23 saves, per Sportsnet. Our box score shows Fowler faced 26 shots, so he allowed three. Norris, Jack Quinn and Tage Thompson scored for Buffalo. Norris, who set up the winning chance with his miss, had scored one of those three. The box also credits Buffalo with a short-handed goal. Montreal outshot the Sabres 34-26 and won 36 of 57 faceoffs. Luukkonen stopped 30 of 34.
Eric Engels of Sportsnet focused on the top line. He called it a vintage night for Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovsky and Caufield, a trio the Canadiens have wanted more from since they were reunited five games ago. The box score backs that up. Caufield had two goals and five shots, and he was a plus-2 in 18:03. Slafkovsky had two assists and Suzuki one. Suzuki now has 9 points in seven games, with 4 goals and 5 assists. Caufield's own line shows 4 points through seven games, though that table and the box score's year-to-date goal count don't agree on his goal total, so we won't give one.
The result leaves both clubs at 4-3. Montreal is sixth in the Atlantic and Buffalo fifth, and the Sabres carry an overtime-loss streak. It was also the second one-goal game between them this week. The Canadiens won 4-3 at home on Tuesday, then lost 5-3 at Washington on Wednesday. Buffalo went to Toronto in between and won 5-4 on Thursday. The Sabres have now lost both Montreal games by a single goal.
| Team | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | P% | Home | Away | Strk | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 14 | .778 | 3-1-0 | 4-1-0 | W5 | +15 | |
| 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 12 | .750 | 5-0-0 | 1-2-0 | W2 | +4 | |
| 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 | .667 | 3-1-0 | 3-2-0 | L1 | +1 | |
| 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | .667 | 2-1-0 | 3-1-2 | W3 | +5 | |
| 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 10 | .556 | 3-2-0 | 1-1-2 | OT1 | -7 | |
| 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 9 | .563 | 3-2-0 | 1-1-1 | W1 | -4 | |
| 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | .500 | 3-3-1 | 0-0-1 | W2 | -4 | |
| 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 8 | .444 | 2-3-1 | 1-1-1 | L1 | -3 |
Montreal stays home Tuesday, Oct. 20, to host San Jose. Buffalo hosts Philadelphia on Wednesday, Oct. 21.
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