The Montreal Canadiens will try to avenge their loss exactly one week ago when they return to Buffalo to begin a home-and-home with the resurgent Sabres on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET).
Montreal boasts one of the NHL's top road records at 7-3-1, but looked out of sorts last Friday at HSBC Arena, falling behind 3-0 after the first period en route to a 4-1 defeat.
Derek Roy, right, and the Sabres got to Montreal goalie Cristobal Huet for three first-period goals in Buffalo's 4-1 in on Nov. 16.
(Don Heupel/Associated Press)
Minor-league callup Clarke MacArthur scored twice for the Sabres, who hadn't reached four goals since a win over Florida on Oct. 26.
The loss to Buffalo was one of five straight games in which the Canadiens (12-6-3) gave up three goals or more. Montreal ended that stretch with a strong showing on the road in its last game, beating the New York Islanders 4-1 on Wednesday night.
Cristobal Huet finally ended his slump for Montreal, stopping a season-high 44 shots to snap a three-game losing streak. He gave up four goals in each of his previous two contests, including the last meeting with Buffalo.
Huet is 6-4-3 with a 2.67 goals-against average in 14 games against the Sabres.
Montreal had also been struggling on offence, scoring two goals or less in six of its previous eight games. Steve Begin scored twice — giving him three this season — and Christopher Higgins added a goal and an assist for the Canadiens on Wednesday.
Sabres sharpening up
Buffalo (8-10-1) is trying to bounce back from a slow start after going an NHL-best 25-12-4 on the road last season en route to winning the President's Trophy for the league's top record.
The Sabres have scored four goals in each of their last two games — the win over Montreal last week and an impressive 4-1 home victory over the Ottawa Senators, who lead the Presidents' Trophy race heading into Friday's action.
Buffalo scored three times in the opening period in both contests after being held to a total of seven en route to losing five of their previous six. The Sabres will be trying to match their longest winning streak of the season, set from Oct. 11-15.
"We've got two in a row now, and we have to keep this rolling," said Buffalo centre Derek Roy, who has two goals and four points in his last three games.
The Sabres' offence has been bolstered by the return of centre Tim Connolly. Tied for the team lead with 11 assists, Connolly missed five games because of a strained oblique before returning against Ottawa.
With the offence coming around, goalie Ryan Miller has started to benefit. He has started the last seven games for Buffalo, posting a 1.86 GAA and while going 3-4-0.
Miller stopped 36 shots by the Canadiens on Friday, and is 9-3-2 with a 2.31 GAA in 14 games against them.
Buffalo is concluding a three-game stretch at home, where it is 6-4-0.
The Sabres and Canadiens will play the back end of their home-and-home series on Saturday (7 p.m. ET).
With files from the Associated PressRelated
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