http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=montgaz-ca-5439056
Veteran-heavy Sabres top Canadiens
Veteran-heavy Sabres top Canadiens
MONTREAL ?? Defenceman Christian Ehrhoff (notes) snapped a 1-1 tie when he beat Montreal Canadiens goaltender Robert Mayer (notes) at 6:07 of the third period as the [Buffalo]e|OOD Sabres went on to a 3-1 pre-season NHL win on Wednesday night.
Ehrhoff scored on a 30-foot slapshot which went in on the short side on Mayer??s glove hand.
The Sabres took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a goal by forward Jason Pominville (notes) . Montreal blue-liner P.K. Subban (notes) tied the game with a power-play goal in the second.
Nobody can accuse Subban of being low-key. His celebration after he scored the game-tying goal in the second period was worthy of a Stanley Cup winning goal.
Tyler Ennis (notes) added an empty-net goal for the Sabres.
Peter Budaj (notes) , who will be Carey Price (notes) ??s backup this season, was solid playing the first half of the game as he stopped 14 of the 15 shots he faced. Budaj made a couple of sensational stops on [Buffalo]e|OOD sniper Thomas Vanek (notes) but also had some luck on his side during a second-period power play when Vanek had an empty net but failed to control the puck.
The Canadiens had six power plays but scored only once. The Sabres went 0-for-3 with the extra man.
The Canadiens are 0-2 in exhibition play while the Sabres are 2-0.
While Canadiens coach Jacques Martin continues to look at a lot of prospects, the Sabres arrived with a veteran-laden lineup. [Buffalo]e|OOD had 13 players with solid NHL credentials. The Canadiens had nine but fulfilled the NHL minimum of 10 by including first-round draft choice Nathan Beaulieu (notes) .
The Canadiens will work on some of the rough edges with a two-hour practice Thursday morning and they then head to Ottawa Friday for the first of four consecutive exhibition games. The Senators are at the Bell Centre on Saturday and the Canadiens will resume their rivalry with the Stanley Cup champion [Boston]e|OOD Bruins with games Sunday in Halifax and Monday in Montreal.
Montreal Gazette
phickey@montrealgazette.com

