Sabres let lead slip away late, recover to beat Habs in OT
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tyler Myers scored the game-winning goal at 2 win over the Montreal Canadiens at First Niagara Center.
Sabres center Derek Roy collected the loose puck in the right corner and sped up the left wing on the rush. Roy gained the blue line and dropped it off for Myers, who ripped a wrister past Montreal's Peter Budaj to the far side.
Tyler Ennis netted two goals in regulation and Drew Stafford added two assists for the Sabres, who improved to 8-2-1 in their last 11 games and moved to within two points of the idle Washington Capitals for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Ryan Miller made 26 saves in the victory.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We should have had that game put away early, but crazy stuff happens when you let a team hang around," Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said.
Erik Cole and David Desharnais contributed a goal and an assist apiece for the Canadiens, who have dropped three of their last five contests. Budaj gave up all three goals on 36 shots in defeat.
The Canadiens opened the scoring just 4:32 into the contest after Desharnais pounced on a loose puck in the high slot and quickly dropped it off to Cole, who fired a wicked wrist shot past Miller for the 1-0 lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Sabres tied the game at one at 11:08 of the second period thanks to a spectacular individual effort from Ennis.
Ennis picked up the puck in the neutral zone off a feed from Stafford and gained the blue line with speed. Ennis deked past Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov on his backhand, then switched back to his forehand and banked the puck off the left post and in.
Buffalo struck again just 1:50 into the third period after Ennis collected the loose disc and sped up the right wing. Ennis went to his backhand and cut in on goal before throwing a pass to the middle that hit off the skate and stick of Markov and snuck past Budaj to the far side.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}With Budaj pulled, the Canadiens tied the game at two with just five seconds to go in regulation after Cole sent a pass from the right corner out to Desharnais, and he fired it past an out-of-position Miller amid a mad scramble in front to send the contest to overtime.
"To see us compete at the end like that and not give up says a lot about the guys on the ice," Canadiens head coach Randy Cunneyworth said. "You obviously want that big goal at the end, that extra reward, but we didn't get it."
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Buffalo improved to 27-3-2 when allowing two or fewer goals this season...They also improved to 11-1-3 when Ennis records a point this season and 38-9-7 when he tallies a point in his career...Miller is 9-1-1 in his last 11 games...Buffalo is 7-0-1 in its last eight games against the Canadiens...It was Ennis' third career two-goal game...The Sabres have killed 20 straight penalties over their last 10 games...Buffalo failed to score on two power-play chances.