MONTREAL — Zachary Bolduc scored the shootout winner as the Montreal Canadiens held on for a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night in Montreal after blowing a two-goal lead. Montreal (3-2-1) won its second straight game while Buffalo (3-3-1) rallied to force overtime in the first meeting since the Canadiens eliminated the Sabres in the second round of last spring's playoffs.
Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield each had a goal and an assist, Josh Anderson also scored and Juraj Slafkovsky added two assists for Montreal. Jacob Fowler made 14 saves in his third consecutive start after stopping 30 shots in Saturday's 1-0 shutout victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Olen Zellweger scored twice and Josh Norris also scored for Buffalo, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 35 shots and Beck Malenstyn and Mattias Samuelsson each had two assists.
Zellweger opened the scoring on the game's first shot when his point attempt hit Canadiens defenseman Adam Engstrom and bounced in at 2:16 of the first period. Hutson tied it at 14:28 of the first on a five-on-three power play with a wrist shot past a screened Luukkonen, and Caufield one-timed a pass from Slafkovsky to give Montreal a 2-1 lead at 1:19 of the second. Hutson then stickhandled in from the blue line and slid a no-look backhand pass to Anderson, who fired into the open net with 50 seconds left in the period for a 3-1 lead. Buffalo erased the deficit with two goals in 61 seconds early in the third, as Norris bounced a point shot off Engstrom before Zellweger converted his second with a wrist shot through traffic to tie it 3-3 at 5:25. Luukkonen denied Phillip Danault on the doorstep with 3.2 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
Fowler, 21, got the start ahead of Jakub Dobes, who opened the season as Montreal's No. 1 goaltender but has struggled to a 1-1-1 record with a 4.43 goals-against average and an .857 save percentage. Dobes, 25, is expected to return to the crease Wednesday in Washington. Montreal played without defenseman Mike Matheson (lower body, day-to-day). Buffalo captain Rasmus Dahlin did not travel to Montreal after appearing to hurt his lower back in Monday's 5-3 win over Florida, and Zellweger, a 23-year-old from Calgary, stepped into the top pairing and scored his first goals since being acquired last summer.
Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has registered a point in nine consecutive games against the Sabres. The result follows Buffalo's 5-3 win over Florida on Monday. Buffalo visits the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, while Montreal visits the Washington Capitals on Wednesday.