Sunday, Feb. 11 7:00pm ET
Poulin's two goals in third beat Sabres
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BOX SCORE
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Thanks to Patrick Poulin, the Montreal
Canadiens finally know what a third-period comeback victory feels
like.
Poulin scored twice in four minutes, including the game-winner
with 4:46 left, to rally Montreal to a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo
Sabres on Sunday night.
|  | | Patrick Poulin puts a backhand past Sabres goalie Dominik Hasek for the first of two third-period goals that rallied Montreal past Buffalo. |
"We never gave up," Poulin said. "It's huge. We needed the
win."
Montreal had been 0-24-3-1 when trailing after two periods this
season.
"Right now, we'll take any points we can," added Saku Koivu,
whose nifty drop pass set up Poulin's game-winner. "I think we're
showing a lot of character. And now it's paying off for us.
"Tonight we were down and we just kept playing our system."
Poulin tied it with 8:36 left when both Sabres defensemen went
for the puck behind the Buffalo net. Montreal's Johan Witehall dug
the puck out and fed it to Poulin, who was wide open in front.
The game-winner came in the midst of a Montreal line change, in
which Poulin elected to stay on the ice to join a 3-on-2 break.
Crossing the Sabres' blue line, Koivu heard Poulin calling for
the puck and hit him with a backhand pass. Poulin snapped a
25-footer through a screen that beat goalie Dominik Hasek through
the legs.
Poulin has scored five goals in his last four games – two of
them game-winners.
Oleg Petrov had a goal and two assists, and Stephane Robidas
also scored for the Canadiens, who beat the Sabres for the first
time in four meetings. Coming off Saturday's 5-3 win over the New
York Islanders, Montreal has won five of its last seven.
Canadiens goalie Jeff Hackett, making his first start since
injuring his hand Dec. 31, stopped 23 shots to end a personal
three-game losing streak.
Dave Andreychuk had a goal and assist, Vaclav Varada ended a
19-game goalless drought, and Dmitri Kalinin also scored for the
Sabres, who had a three-game win streak come to an end.
The Sabres could only kick themselves after they scored three
goals in a six-minute span to build a 3-1 lead on Varada's goal
midway through the period.
"We had breakdowns defensively ... we let them walk in, let
them get the puck and score some goals," said defenseman Rhett
Warrener, noting the players held a meeting after the game to
discuss what happened.
"The gist was we can't afford to let a game like that slip
away. We had something pretty good going here," Warrener said,
referring to the Sabres' three-game winning streak.
By setting up Andreychuk's goal, Doug Gilmour earned his 901st
assist, moving into a tie for 12th on the career list with Bryan
Trottier, and his 1,326th point, moving into a tie for 19th with
former Sabre Gilbert Perreault.
Game notes
With Montreal missing eight regulars due to injury, D
Matthieu Descoteaux recorded an assist in his NHL debut after being
called up Saturday. D Sheldon Souray did not play after being hit
with a shot in the right ankle in Saturday's 5-3 win against the
New York Islanders. … Mike Ramsey, former Sabres defensemen and
current Minnesota Wild assistant coach, was one of three elected
into the franchise's hall of fame. Also elected were former
defenseman Jerry Korab and scout Michel Racicot, the only member of
the Sabres hockey staff still with the team since it was
established. … Maxim Afinogenov, who scored the overtime winner
in Buffalo's 2-1 victory at Ottawa on Saturday night, became the
first NHL player to score overtime goals in consecutive games since
the NHL instituted the five-minute regular season OT format in
1983. Last Wednesday, Afinogenov scored the winner in Buffalo's 2-1
overtime win over the New York Islanders.
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