BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The Montreal Canadiens extended their winning streak to a season-high four games with a 4-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
Cole Caufield, Josh Anderson and Alex Newhook each scored, and Jake Evans added an empty-net goal for Montreal. Jakub Dobes made 23 saves.
Alex Tuch and Jiri Kulich scored and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves for the Sabres, who have dropped two in a row and three of the last five.
Caufield gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 1:13 of the second, but the Sabres went ahead 2-1 after Tuch and Kulich scored 1:29 apart.
Montreal made it 2-2 when Anderson scored on a 4-on-3 rush and took the lead when Newhook tipped a shot past Luukkonen with 2.6 seconds left in the period.
Evans added an empty-net goal with 1:38 left to seal the win.
TAKEAWAYS
Canadiens: Montreal beat the Sabres for the third time and can sweep the season series Monday night and continue their push in the wild-card race.
Sabres: After winning four straight and six of their past seven, the Sabres have lost two in row and remain last in the Eastern Conference.
KEY MOMENT
Newhook’s tip of a Mike Matheson shot with 2.6 seconds left in the second period gave the Canadiens a 3-2 lead.
KEY STAT
Lane Hutson’s two assists moved him into second place in Canadiens history for most points by a rookie defenceman with 46. Chris Chelios had 64 points in 1984-85 for the top spot.
UP NEXT
The Sabres and Canadiens meet again in Montreal on Monday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Joe Yerdon, The Associated Press
