Thompson, Samuelsson sustain injuries during back-and-forth loss to Canadiens

Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff was still awaiting an update on the statuses of forward Tage Thompson and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson when he met with the media following a 7-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center on Monday.

Thompson left the game after his first shift of the second period due to a lower-body injury. Samuelsson, who returned to the lineup after being scratched for the last three games, finished his last shift with 12:16 remaining in the middle period before leaving with his own lower-body injury.

Ruff also said that his decision to replace goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with Devon Levi to start the third period was a precautionary move due to an ailment that Luukkonen sustained during practice. Luukkonen, who was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Week earlier Monday after winning his last three games, had stopped 14 of 18 shots through 40 minutes.

“That was really my decision,” Ruff said regarding Luukkonen. “I mean, he had a little bit of an ailment yesterday. I just thought it could be affecting his play, so it was my decision to take him out and make sure nothing gets worse.”

Playing shorthanded for more than half the game, the Sabres lost a back-and-forth contest to end what had been a three-game winning streak. The game featured six lead changes, including a pair of one-goal leads for the Sabres in each of the second and third periods.

Buffalo led 3-2 with less than a minute to play in the second period before a pair of goals from Nick Suzuki jolted Montreal ahead. Suzuki’s first goal, scored with 46.9 seconds on the clock, was the result of an odd-man rush. The next goal came 22 seconds later, when Juraj Slafkovsky won a battle for a loose puck down low and found Suzuki with room to shoot in front of Luukkonen.

“Those last two to end the second period, obviously, [are] brutal,” Sabres alternate captain Alex Tuch said. “When you have a lead with a minute left in the period, you can’t let that happen. Yeah, it’s just bad discipline.”

Ruff encouraged the Sabres to stick with it during the second intermission, assuring his players that they would have an opportunity to get back into the game. That chance came quickly in the form of a power-play goal from Rasmus Dahlin, which tied the score at 4-4 just 1:58 into the third period. JJ Peterka got behind the Montreal defense and scored five-hole to put the Sabres back in front less than two minutes later.

Again, the Canadiens answered with their own two goals scored in quick succession. Emil Heineman scored on a shot through traffic to tie the game at 5-5 with 7:02 remaining. Just 25 seconds later, Dahlin was called for elbowing as he braced himself for an expected hit from Canadiens forward Jake Evans along the wall. It was the Sabres’ sixth minor penalty of the night.

“Way too many (penalties),” Dahlin said. “Especially my penalty. I take full ownership. That can’t happen.”

Cole Caufield scored the winning goal with 17 seconds left on the ensuring power play. Slafkovsky received a carom off the end boards to the right of the net and made a quick feed through the blue paint to set up the goal, earning his third assist of the night.

Christian Dvorak added an empty-net goal during the final minute to stave off the Sabres’ comeback attempt.

“This one, I think we’re gonna really learn from,” Dahlin said. “We got humbled today. I think we were very excited about our previous games, and I don’t know. But we know if you’re not showing up 100 percent, it’s hard to win in this league. So, we’re going to work hard moving forward.”

The Sabres twice erased deficits of their own during the first half of the game. Josh Anderson opened the scoring for the Canadiens on a breakaway 4:14 into the contest, only for Thompson to tie the score on a drive to the net 28 seconds later.

Caufield put the Canadiens back in front with a power-play goal scored 5:26 into the second. This time, Dylan Cozens – replacing Thompson on the top line with Peterka and Tuch – deflected a shot for the tying goal just 19 seconds later. Peyton Krebs scored less than a minute after that to give the Sabres their 3-2 lead.

“I think we created momentum for ourselves,” Dahlin said. “We just didn’t take care of it. I think we got to look ourselves in the mirror after this game and really dig in. We can’t play like that if we want to win.”

Here’s more from the loss on Monday.

1. Cozens had a goal and an assist along with three hits in 15:49. He backchecked the length of the ice to break up Montreal’s initial attempt at an empty-net goal during the final minute, but Dvorak was able to score on a second effort.

“Dylan’s game has really started to come around,” Ruff said. “That’s a positive.”

2. Ruff said the defensive lapses and penalties were a departure from the detail-oriented approach that had led the Sabres to wins in their previous three games.

“When Thompson went out, we fought back and ended up taking the lead, but we just hurt ourselves,” Ruff said. “We beat ourselves at the end, which is the frustrating part. It’s the part we’re trying to get away from. And we’ve been good with it, but we’re not there yet.”

3. Thompson’s first-period goal was his 11th of the season, which at the time placed him in a four-way tie for first in the NHL. Caufield jumped ahead with his 11th and 12th goals of the season later in the game.

Up next

The Sabres conclude the three-game homestand against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. Tickets are available here.

The game will be streamed exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu beginning at 7:30 p.m.