Playing shorthanded for more than half the game, the Sabers 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 Sabers in each of the second and third periods.

Buffalo led 3-2 with less than a minute left in the second period before a pair of goals from Nick Suzuki gave Montreal the lead. Suzuki’s first goal, scored with 46.9 seconds left, was the result of an onslaught of outsiders. The next goal came 22 seconds later, when Juraj Slafkovsky won a battle for a loose puck and found Suzuki with space to shoot in front of Luukkonen.

“Those last two to end the second period, obviously, (are) brutal,” Sabers alternate captain Alex Tuch said. “When you have a lead with a minute left in the period, you can’t let that happen. Yes, it is just bad discipline.”

Ruff encouraged the Sabers to keep it up during the second intermission, assuring his players that they would have a chance to get back into the game. That opportunity 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 holes to put the Sabers back in front less than two minutes later.

Once again, the Canadiens responded with two goals of their own 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 while preparing for an expected hit by Canadiens forward Jake Evans along the wall. It was the sixth minor penalty of the night for the Sabres.

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

Cole Caufield scored the game-winning goal with 17 seconds left on the assured power play. Slafkovsky received a carom into the right corners of the net and made a quick pass 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.

“I think we’re really going to learn from this one,” Dahlin said. “Today we feel honored. I think we were really excited about our previous games and I don’t know. But we know that if you are not 100 percent, it is difficult to win in this league. So we are going to work hard to move forward.”