For the second time in five days, the Buffalo Sabres were the visitors at the Bell Centre, and once again, Montreal Canadiens' coach Martin St-Louis gave the net to Jacob Fowler. Adam Engstrom and Owen Beck were pushed out of the lineup, while Oliver Kapanen and David Reinbacher made their season debuts.

The Habs came ready to play and threw a lot of pucks at the net in the first frame, but none reached Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen until nine minutes had been played. That one shot seemed to open the floodgates, though, and by the end of the first frame, Montreal had seven shots to Buffalo’s five.

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It made sense for Martin St-Louis to try Chris Kreider on his first power play unit. After all, he has mastered the art of shot deflection, and the power play is where he has made his bread and butter. However, after seven games, the Sainte-Flanelle’s power play was 27th in the league with a mediocre 13.6% success rate.

The truth is, the Habs' top players aren't used to shooting for deflections, and it doesn’t come naturally to them. On Saturday night, the coach decided it was time to give Zach Bolduc a shot in the top unit, and it paid off right away. In the Canadiens’ first man-advantage of the night, Juraj Slafkovsky gave the puck to Nick Suzuki, who took a shot from just above the circle, and Bolduc tipped it past Luukkonen. Funny that he scored it with a tip, Kreider’s specialty, but it was his fourth goal of the season (plus two in the shootout). Riding the hot hand works, whether it’s in net or up front.

The Habs often attack from between the goal line and the top of the faceoff circles, but on Saturday, they seemed to remember you don't need to be Shea Weber to take a shot from the blueline. In the same shift, Noah Dobson wound up for four booming slap shots; while none led to a Canadiens goal, they kept sustained pressure in the offensive zone. On the next shift, Kaiden Guhle got his turn to unleash a big slapper, and while Luukkonen made the first save, he couldn't stop Alexandre Carrier on the rebound.

Sometimes it pays to go back to basics, and this was one of those times. Six of the Sainte-Flanelle’s 22 shots through 40 minutes came from the blueline, and that’s not counting those that were tipped on the way. Even if a shot isn’t the hardest, it can still create chaos in the offensive zone and put the defence on its heels. For St-Louis, attacking as a unit of five is key:

I think our balance on the ice helps us gather the pucks and keep the attack going. We attack as a unit of five in the offensive zone, and if our defensemen have time, shooting lanes, and there are bodies around the net, it invites shots. It’s not as if we’re telling them to shoot more tonight, but they have to be ready before receiving the puck and know what their options are: A, B or C. Usually, A is to put it toward the net, and we were able to get people in there tonight and create shooting lanes for them. Our defensemen can get the puck to the net, but it starts with how we manage the puck deep and use our balance to retrieve those pucks and do it more than once in an offensive-zone sequence.

Any worries about Slafkovsky’s health after his collision with Tom Wilson earlier this week were quickly dismissed. On Saturday night, the Big Slovak took charge, and his efficient forecheck led to Cole Caufield’s first goal of the night. He won the puck so quickly and efficiently that by the time Luukkonen realized Slafkovsky had fed the sniper from behind the net, the puck was already in. It doesn’t always have to be about laying big hits; on that play, it was about an active stick and switching from defensive to offensive mode in a flash.

Ultimately, the Canadiens won 4-3 in overtime, but the team’s inability to separate itself from the Sabres and protect the lead could have been costly. The result could have been completely different if Buffalo made them pay for giving up a three-on-one in overtime, but Montreal got lucky and missed the net. Luckier still, the puck ended up on Caufield’s stick for a breakaway chance.

The Habs sniper added a couple more goals to his Saturday night tally, and after the game, he told reporters what made him so efficient on that night of the week: the lack of traffic in Montreal's streets. Less traffic means less stress and a more relaxed Caufield on the ice.

The Canadiens will enjoy a day off on Sunday before returning to Brossard on Monday morning for their Tuesday night duel with the San Jose Sharks in Montreal.

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