Price lock: Canadiens blank Sabres in goalie's return
MONTREAL -- Carey Price hadn't even stepped out onto the ice yet before his name was being chanted by the Bell Centre crowd. The All-Star goaltender was back between the pipes for the Montreal Canadiens after being sidelined for most of the month of November with a lower body injury.
Price made 36 saves en route to his 40th career shutout and first of the season in his first start since Nov. 2, leading the Canadiens to a 3-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
Jeff Petry, Alex Galchenyuk and Paul Byron all scored for Montreal (9-12-3).
The Sabres (6-14-4), who snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night, have now lost eight of their last 10 games.
The Canadiens earned the game's first power-play opportunity after Buffalo right winger Jason Pominville was called for a hook on Charles Hudon. Petry only needed a few seconds to fire a point shot on goalie Robin Lehner and make it 1-0. Jonathan Drouin and Galchenyuk picked up the assists on the goal.
Byron missed his last two shifts of the first period after sustaining what appeared to be a minor hand injury late in the first period. He was back on the bench to start the second.
The second period saw the momentum shift somewhat in the Sabres favor, with the shots being 15-9 Buffalo in the middle frame. Unfortunately for the Sabres, that momentum shift didn't translate onto the scoresheet.
With 6:02 to play in the second, Byron and Galchenyuk created a 2-on-1 rush, with Galchenyuk snapping Byron's rebound past Lehner to give the Canadiens a two-goal lead. Drouin picked up his second assist on the goal.
With Andrew Shaw in the penalty box serving a slashing minor, Byron broke free to score his sixth of the season, an unassisted short-handed goal, making it 3-0.
That score would hold up despite the fact that the Sabres played the final three minutes and change with the extra attacker after head coach Phil Housley pulled Lehner.
The Canadiens continue their three-game homestand on Monday when they host the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sabres, meanwhile, return home to host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday.
NOTES: Canadiens D Shea Weber missed his third straight game with a lower body injury. ... Montreal LW Max Pacioretty, who had two shots on goal on Saturday night, has at least one shot in each game this season. ... Canadiens D Jeff Petry scored his first power-play goal since Dec. 5, 2016 (which came against the Colorado Avalanche). ... Sabres G Robin Lehner made his second start in as many nights. ... The Sabres haven't won on the road since they beat the Coyotes 5-4 on Nov. 2.