Sabres snap eight-game skid behind Skinner’s five-point effort in win over Canadiens

MONTREAL — Jeff Skinner picked up two goals and three assists as the Buffalo Sabres snapped an eight-game losing streak with a resounding 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night.

MONTREAL — Jeff Skinner picked up two goals and three assists as the Buffalo Sabres snapped an eight-game losing streak with a resounding 7-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday night.

Tage Thompson recorded a goal and three assists on the night while Rasmus Dahlin and Alex Tuch each notched one goal and two assists. JJ Peterka and Henry Jokiharju added the others for Buffalo (8-11-0).

Craig Anderson made 29 saves.

Cole Caufield and Sean Monahan scored for Montreal (9-9-1). Jake Allen had a rough day at the office allowing seven goals on 38 shots.

The Canadiens struggled on the power play, going 0 for 6 with the man advantage, including a four-on-three opportunity halfway through the second period.

The Sabres, meanwhile, jumped out of the blocks with a 3-0 lead in the first 2:13. It was their second fastest three-goal tally to begin a game in franchise history.

Thompson found Dahlin in the slot to make it 1-0 only 35 seconds after puck drop.

Seventeen seconds later, the Sabres attacked Allen’s crease and Peterka netted Buffalo’s second of the night.

In an attempt to shift the momentum, Canadiens defenceman Chris Wideman dropped the gloves with Sabres forward Tyson Jost after Montreal’s Michael Pezetta was called for boarding.

Instead, Tuch jumped on the opportunity to triple Buffalo’s lead with a wrist shot on the power play.

The Habs cut the deficit to two goals when Caufield sent a slap shot past Anderson at 2:57 of the first.

Buffalo regained its three-goal cushion 11:21 into the second when Thompson found Skinner in the slot with a backhand pass and the winger scored his sixth of the season.

Montreal made it a 4-2 game when Monahan took the puck from centre ice, drove down and scored off his own rebound at 13:57.

The Sabres bumped their advantage to three when Tuch rounded the net and sent a backhand pass to Jokiharju who beat Allen for his first of the season at 3:48 of the third.

Thompson added his team’s sixth goal at 6:39 of the final frame with a wrist shot over Allen’s glove.

Skinner iced the game with a one-timer from the right face-off circle at 14:26.

DAHLIN’S COMING OF AGE

Rasmus Dahlin has had a white-hot start to his fifth National Hockey League season. The first overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft has recorded 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in his last 10 games.

SKINNER VS. MONTREAL

Jeff Skinner has all the games against the Canadiens circled on his calendar. The 30-year-old winger collected two goals and three assists on Tuesday night bringing his total against the Habs to 40 points (23 goals, 17 assists) in 37 games.

NEXT UP

The Canadiens will travel to Columbus overnight to take on the Blue Jackets Wednesday.

The Sabres will head back to Buffalo to host the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2022.

Tristan D’Amours, The Canadian Press