Caufield scores twice, including OT winner, as Canadiens edge Sabres
Cole Caufield extended his franchise record with his 14th regular-season overtime goal in the 4-3 win.
MONTREAL — Cole Caufield scored his second goal of the game 54 seconds into overtime to lift the Montreal Canadiens over the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Saturday night.
Caufield had a breakaway after Josh Norris missed his shot on a 3-on-1 rush and ripped a shot into the top-left corner, extending his franchise record with his 14th regular-season overtime goal.
Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier also scored while Montreal built a two-goal lead before Buffalo stormed back.
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Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson and Norris scored for Buffalo, which fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Canadiens on Tuesday.
Thompson tied it at 3 with 9:48 remaining in the third period after Josh Doan found him alone at the side of the net to eventually force overtime.
Norris opened the scoring for the Sabres at 8:21 in a sluggish first period for the Canadiens, tallying his second goal this season on a rebound after Montreal defenceman David Reinbacher turned the puck over in the neutral zone.
The Canadiens broke out with a tying goal on their first shot. Bolduc, promoted to Montreal’s top power-play unit, tipped in Nick Suzuki’s wrist shot at 11:45 of the opening period for his fourth of the campaign.
Caufield made it 2-1 for Montreal at 14:01 when he hammered a shot past an unsuspecting Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after Juraj Slafkovsky beat Olen Zellweger to a loose puck behind Buffalo’s net.
Texier buried a rebound at 7:39 in the second period. Quinn responded two minutes later with a short-handed goal assisted by Zach Benson after a heads-up dump-in from Mattias Samuelsson, cutting Montreal’s lead to 3-2 after 40 minutes.
The Sabres went on the power play with 2:17 remaining in regulation after Slafkovsky tripped Jiri Kulich but couldn’t capitalize despite spending the majority of the time in Montreal’s zone.
Jacob Fowler stopped 23 shots in his fourth start in five games for Montreal (4-3-1). Luukkonen made 30 saves for Buffalo (4-3-2).
Juraj Slafkovsky and Alexandre Carrier added two assists each for the Canadiens.
Reinbacher and forward Oliver Kapanen made their season debuts for Montreal. A fifth overall draft pick in 2023, Reinbacher played his third NHL game after beginning this season in the American Hockey League. Kapanen missed the Canadiens’ first seven games due to a lower-body injury.
Quinn stayed hot, scoring his fifth of the season after a four-point outburst in Thursday’s 5-4 comeback win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in overtime.
Suzuki has registered a point in 10 consecutive regular-season games against the Sabres.
Up next: The Canadiens host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, while the Sabres host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.
With files from The Canadian Press, Sportsnet and The Globe and Mail