Final
Huet notches first shutout of the season as Habs rattle Sabres
Nov 6, 2007 - 4:40 AM By Mark Lidbetter PA SportsTicker Contributing WriterMONTREAL (Ticker) -- The Montreal Canadiens managed to salvage a split of their four game homestand thanks to a 2-0 win over the struggling Buffalo Sabres on Monday night at the Bell Center.
Tomas Plekanec scored in the second period and Bryan Smolinski added an empty net tally with 22 seconds to play in the third for Montreal, which will now head out on a four-game road trip.
Montreal goaltender Cristobal Huet turned aside 29 shots for his first shutout of the season and the 14th of his career.
For the third time in the homestand the Canadiens lacked offensive spark in the first period. The Sabres outshot the Canadiens, 9-1, at the 12-minute mark and the Canadiens had only two shoots on Sabres goalie Ryan Miller with 7:46 left in the opening session.
At the opposite end of the ice, Huet turned away 16 shots to keep the scoresheet blank. Miller easily handled the eight shots the Canadiens did manage to fire his way in the first.
"I think they (Buffalo) started the game in a funny way, they threw everything at the net so they had a lot of shots, not a lot of scoring chances," Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau said.
It was a different story in the second session as Montreal turned up the intensity while Buffalo sputtered along with the Sabres getting their first shot on Huet with 9:43 left in the period.
Montreal got on the board when Andrei Markov hit Andrei Kostitsyn with a breakout pass as Kostitsyn sped down the right boards. Breaking over the Buffalo blue line, Kostitsyn pulled the play his way and laid a pass to Plekanec breaking towards Miller from the left.
Plekanec went to his backhand and slipped the puck inside the right post, past the sprawling Sabre netminder for a 1-0 advantage at 13:06.
"It was a great play by Andrei (Kostitsyn) to open the ice," Plekanec said. "It wasn't pretty (the win) but the two points are important."
Huet made four saves in the second period and nine more in the third for his 10th shutout as a Canadien.
"I think they tried for a lot of shots in The first and to rebounds and second chances off my pads and I got a lot of confidence after that first," Huet said. "I felt pretty bad after the Toronto game and I wanted to come back strong."
Miller finished with 17 saves for Buffalo, which has lost three straight.
"It's going to get better, we judge ourselves on how we're playing," Miller said. "I think if we get one (win) we get two and then get three. It was one of those nights when Huet had everything in front of him and when he didn't he was making the right reads."
Defenseman Brian Campbell feels better times are ahead for the Sabres.
"It'll come some way. some how, it doesn't have to be pretty," Campbell said. "It's tough to play so well and not get rewarded for the effort."
- NHL
FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
BUFFALO 0 0 0 0
MONTREAL 0 1 1 2 FINAL
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: NONE
2ND PRD: MON - TOMAS PLEKANEC 4 (ANDREI KOSTITSYN, ANDREI MARKOV)
13:06
3RD PRD: MON - (EN) BRYAN SMOLINSKI 2 (ANDREI MARKOV) 19:38
POWER-PLAY CONVERSIONS: BUF - 0 OF 2, MON - 0 OF 2.
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST
Nov 5 10:00 PM - NHL
END OF THE 3RD 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
BUFFALO 0 0 0 0
MONTREAL 0 1 1 2 END OF THE 3RD
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: NONE
2ND PRD: MON - TOMAS PLEKANEC 4 (ANDREI KOSTITSYN, ANDREI MARKOV)
13:06
3RD PRD: MON - (EN) BRYAN SMOLINSKI 2 (ANDREI MARKOV) 19:38
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
BU
Nov 5 9:58 PM - NHL
BUFFALO 0
MONTREAL 2
3RD PRD: MON - (EN) BRYAN SMOLINSKI 2 (ANDREI MARKOV) 19:38
Sabres vs. CanadiensNov 5 9:56 PM - NHL
END OF THE 2ND 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
BUFFALO 0 0 0
MONTREAL 0 1 1 END OF THE 2ND
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: NONE
2ND PRD: MON - TOMAS PLEKANEC 4 (ANDREI KOSTITSYN, ANDREI MARKOV)
13:06
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
BUF 16 4 20
MON 8 9 17
GOALIES: B
Nov 5 9:03 PM - NHL
BUFFALO 0
MONTREAL 1
2ND PRD: MON - TOMAS PLEKANEC 4 (ANDREI KOSTITSYN, ANDREI MARKOV)
13:06
Sabres vs. CanadiensNov 5 8:52 PM - NHL
END OF THE 1ST 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
BUFFALO 0 0
MONTREAL 0 0 END OF THE 1ST
GOAL SCORING:
1ST PRD: NONE
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1ST 2ND 3RD TOTAL
--- --- --- -----
BUF 16 16
MON 8 8
GOALIES: BUF - RYAN MILLER
MON - CRISTOBAL HUET
Nov 5 8:12 PM
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