BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) 鈥 Jake Allen made 36 saves to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night.
Allen made several big stops in net for the Canadiens, guiding Montreal to its second straight win. Brendan Gallagher, Justin Barron and Tanner Pearson scored for Montreal.
鈥淗e definitely did his job tonight,鈥 Pearson said of Allen. 鈥淗e was a big reason why we won.鈥
Jeff Skinner scored for the Sabres, who dominated the flow of play and outshot Montreal 37-27, but Buffalo was unable to capitalize on the scoreboard. Eric Comrie made 24 saves.
鈥淭his team and this group will score,鈥 Sabres coach Don Granato said. 鈥淵eah, it鈥檚 frustrating tonight. You had numerous chances that they didn鈥檛 convert on. 鈥 We know we have goal scorers in here and guys that will make plays. I just think that鈥檒l come.鈥
Allen's most important save came on the penalty kill with 8:32 remaining. After Canadiens' defenceman David Savard blocked back-to-back shots 鈥 while losing one of his skate blades in the process 鈥 Allen stopped a Skinner shot from the right circle with his glove.
鈥淚 feel like (Savard) does it every night,鈥 Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said.
鈥淗e doesn鈥檛 lose his blade like that every night. Savvy鈥檚 a hockey player. There鈥檚 a big difference between someone who plays hockey and a hockey player, and Savvy鈥檚 showing that game in and game out that he鈥檚 a hockey player. You can鈥檛 have too many of those guys. That鈥檚 what he does.鈥
Gallagher scored the go-ahead goal for Montreal 3:31 into the third period by poking a loose puck in the crease through Comrie鈥檚 legs.
Pearson gave Montreal a two-goal cushion with 3:07 remaining, finishing a one-timer from close range on the power play.
Barron opened the scoring for Montreal 2:56 into the game on a one-timer from the right circle. Barron capitalized on a long rebound for his first goal of the season.
Skinner evened the score on the power play a little over four minutes later from a tough angle, lifting the puck into the top of the net. Since joining the Sabres in 2018, Skinner has 13 goals and 11 assists against the Canadiens in 14 games.
The Sabres created plenty of offensive chances in the second period but Allen stopped all 17 shots on net.
鈥淲e had some chances, a lot from outside,鈥 Skinner said. 鈥淲e just needed a little bit more urgency, I think 鈥 it doesn鈥檛 matter unless you score, so we鈥檝e got to find a way to do that.鈥
LEVI UPDATE
After starting in each of Buffalo鈥檚 first four games of the season, Sabres goalie Devon Levi missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. Sabres coach Don Granato said earlier Monday that Levi is not expected to play Tuesday in Ottawa but he should be able to return soon. Fellow Sabres rookie Zach Benson also missed the game with a lower-body injury.
UP NEXT
Canadiens: Begin a three-game homestead on Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils.
Sabres: Head to Ottawa on Tuesday night.
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