Canadiens Extend Winning Streak to Four with 4-2 Victory Over Sabres

On Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens achieved their longest winning streak of the season thus far, defeating the Buffalo Sabres 4-2. Cole Caufield contributed significantly by opening the scoring with a power-play goal early in the second period. However, the Sabres swiftly responded, gaining a temporary 2-1 advantage through goals by Alex Tuch and Jiri Kulich, scored within less than two minutes of each other.

The Montreal team quickly regained momentum as Josh Anderson tied the game through a successful 4-on-3 rush. With only 2.6 seconds remaining in the second period, Alex Newhook tipped a shot from Mike Matheson past Sabres' goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, restoring Montreal's lead. Jake Evans later added an empty-net goal in the closing moments of the third period, sealing the Canadiens' victory.

In goal, Montreal saw a solid performance from Jakub Dobes, who recorded 23 saves. Despite Luukkonen's effort of 25 saves, the Sabres were unable to avoid their second straight defeat, marking their third loss in the last five matches.

Montreal's victory marked their third triumph over Buffalo this season, positioning them to potentially sweep the series when the two teams meet again Monday night at the Bell Centre. These recent performances are critical as the Canadiens continue their pursuit of a playoff position in the wild-card race.

Buffalo, meanwhile, faces ongoing struggles; following a promising previous streak where they won four consecutive matches and six of seven overall, they have dropped two consecutive contests and remain at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

Canadiens rookie defenseman Lane Hutson made headlines as well, assisting twice in this encounter and moving into second place in franchise history for rookie defenseman points with 46. He trails only Chris Chelios, who holds the record with 64 points in the 1984-85 campaign.