At the Horn | Canadiens 4 - Sabres 3 (OT)

Rasmus Dahlin scored with 1:01 remaining to complete a three-goal comeback in regulation, but the Buffalo Sabres fell short in overtime in a 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Monday.

Mike Matheson scored the winning goal for Montreal 1:21 into the extra period, salvaging the game for the Canadiens after they built an early 3-0 lead on a trio of special teams goals. Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky scored on power plays while Nick Suzuki added another goal shorthanded.

Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson scored goals for the Sabres to ignite the comeback. Buffalo finished with a 36-20 lead in shots but went 0-for-4 on the power play. Montreal went 2-for-5 with the extra man, with four of its opportunities coming during the first period.

James Reimer made 16 saves for the Sabres. Sam Montembeault stopped 33 of 36 shots for the Canadiens.

The Sabres are 0-2-1 in their last three games with the overtime loss, having previously lost in regulation at home against the Canadiens on Saturday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Period

Coming off a contentious conclusion to their previous meeting in Buffalo on Saturday, the Sabres came out as the aggressor physically. Dahlin sent Joel Armia flying to the ice with an open-ice hit, then later drove Brendan Gallagher into the Montreal net following a save by Montembeault. Connor Clifton delivered a crushing hit on Slafkovsky.

With that aggression, however, came penalty trouble. The Sabres took five minor penalties in the period, four of which led to Canadiens power plays. The Sabres received just one power play of their own, during which they allowed a shorthanded goal.

All told, Montreal jumped ahead with three special teams goals in a span of four minutes. Caufield buried a crossing pass at the back door for the first power-play goal with 10:18 remaining in the period. Suzuki added the next goal on a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush.

Slafkovsky completed the run with a second power-play goal, the product of a fortuitous bounce on an attempted pass through the Buffalo crease. The puck hit Reimer’s stick, then bounced off the chest of Clifton and into the net.

Second Period

The Sabres controlled play for much of the middle period, outshooting the Canadiens 14-6 and earning two power plays in the process. Montembeault held them at bay until Tuch finally cashed in with 1:53 remaining.

Dennis Gilbert initiated the play with a stretch pass from deep in his own zone to Dylan Cozens at the opposite blue line. Cozens shielded the puck as he drove to the net and put a shot on goal, with Tuch crashing in pursuit to bury the rebound and extend his goal-scoring streak to four games.

Third Period

Thompson’s 29th goal of the season cut the deficit to one just 3:24 into the period. Jacob Bryson earned an assist for the second straight game on the play, pinching down the right wall to retrieve a long rebound and cycling it back to Peterka, who then dished the pass to set up Thompson’s one-timer from above the left circle.

The goal was a well-deserved reward for the line of Thompson, Jiri Kulich, and Peterka, who were on the ice for 10 Sabres scoring chances at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Buffalo continued to push from there, finishing the period with a 13-5 edge in shots and tying the game on Dahlin’s goal with Reimer pulled for an extra attacker. Dahlin buried a shot from the left circle with Tuch crowding the net.

Overtime

The Sabres possessed the puck for most of the first minute of overtime but did not manage a shot on Montembeault.

The first shot of the period instead came from Matheson, who faked a pass on the rush before burying a near-side attempt from the right circle.

UP NEXT

The Sabres return home to host the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. It will be Buffalo Bills Night at KeyBank Center, featuring appearances from Bills coaches, alumni and personalities. Find more information on the night here.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.