Canadiens veterans, Sean Monahan, Brendan Gallagher, Tanner Pearson and Jake Allen determined the outcome in this win over the Buffalo Sabres.

GAME RECAP | Buffalo Sabres vs Montreal Canadiens

Canadiens Lineup

Forwards

22 Cole Caufield 14 Nick Suzuki 49 Rafael Harvey-Pinard
17 Josh Anderson 15 Alex Newhook 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
70 Tanner Pearson 91 Sean Monahan 11 Brendan Gallagher
55 Michael Pezzetta 71 Jake Evans 56 Jesse Ylonen

Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson 58 David Savard
54 Jordan Harris 26 Johnathan Kovacevic
72 Arber Xhekaj 52 Justin Barron

Goaltenders

Starter: 34 Jake Allen
Alternate: 35 Sam Montembeault

Out of the lineup

Scratches: Joel Armia, Cayden Primeau

Injuries: Christian Dvorak (lower body), Carey Price (lower body), Chris Wideman (upper body), Kirby Dach (lower body), Kaiden Guhle

Game Report

Following a rebuilding team, supporters of the Montreal Canadiens have focused on the young guns of the organization. But tonight, the greybeards reminded fans that they can contribute too. 

Brendan Gallagher scored in his second consecutive game, going to the net to poke the puck past goaltender Eric Comrie. Gallagher also recorded the primary assist with a touch pass to Tanner Pearson on Montreal's third goal.

In addition to a power play goal, Pearson added an assist for a two point night. The third member of the line, Sean Monahan, registered an assist on the opening goal.

Pearson, Monahan and Gallagher are each in the top five of Canadiens scoring, totaling 13 points for the line.

David Savard may not be as mobile as he once was, but he was a workhorse in his own zone in Buffalo. Savard had a heroic penalty kill shift after he lost his stick and a skate blade.

Justin Barron, playing his second game of the season, scored the first goal by a Montreal defenseman this season. 

The Sabres peppered the Canadiens goal with 69 shot attempts. Jake Allen was outstanding making 36 saves. Buffalo dominated 5-on-5 play with 12 high-danger chances to just four for Montreal.

According to Sabres head coach Don Granato, his team did not convert their chances. "I thought that their goaltender played real well," said Granato.

Allen has been the first star in two consecutive games and is the clear number one goaltender for the Canadiens at this point in the season.

Game Statistics

Canadiens (3-1-1)
Shots: 27
Face-off %: 52.7
Power play: 1/3
Penalty minutes: 10
Hits: 27
Blocks: 17

Sabres (2-4-0)
Shots: 37
Face-off %: 47.3
Power play: 1/5
Penalty minutes: 6
Hits: 20
Blocks: 10

Scoring Summary

Canadiens Scorers
1st period: Barron (1)
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: Gallagher (2), Pearson (3)-PPG
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Sabres Scorers
1st period: Skinner (3)-PPG
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: No scoring
OT: n/a
SO: n/a

Goaltenders
MTL: Allen (W) 2-0-1
BUF: Comrie (L) 1-0-1

Canadiens Players of the Game

Jake Allen - Allen has two wins and has not yet lost a game in regulation this season. in three games, Allen has a 2.58 goals against average and a .929 save percentage.

Brendan Gallagher - Gallagher had a two-point night, scoring the game winner for the Canadiens in 11:14 of ice time.

Tanner Pearson - Pearson led the team with six shots on goal and recorded an expected goal percentage of 87.51.

Video Highlights

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY2u9CqpisE[/embed]

Post-game Quotes

Tanner Pearson on Sean Monahan

"Mony was quite a player, he gave us a lot of trouble when he was in Calgary. I played for Darryl (Sutter), he trained me at the start of my career, and Mony had him too. I don't know if there is a connection, but Monahan is a very simple player, who talks a lot on the ice. It's easy to play with him."

Brendan Gallagher on Sean Monahan

"He's incredibly easy to play with. He is dominant on faceoffs, most nights. He is smart, competitive and he wants to win. I really like playing with him."

Jake Allen on Brendan Gallagher

"He’s good 20 feet from goal. He still has it. It wasn’t pretty, it was a goal like the other night."

Game Preview

Allen With a Second Straight Start for the Canadiens | PREVIEW: MTL @ BUF

Up Next

The Canadiens will return to Montreal to host the New Jersey Devils at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night.

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