|
 Parenteau scored in both regulation and the shootout to lead the
Montreal Canadiens to a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres
Wednesday night.
"Let's face it -- we needed it," Parenteau said. "After those two
performances we had on our home ice, any kind of win was going to be
good tonight. It was back-to-back, a lot of things against us, the
offense wasn't there that much and we played a decent game ... big,
big win for us."
The game-winner came in the third round of the shootout. Parenteau
beat Sabres goalie Michal Neuvirth with a wrist shot high to the
glove side. Center Alex Galchenyuk also scored in the shootout for
the Canadiens.
It was the third shootout winner of the season for Parenteau, whose
confidence has been on full display during the extra session.
 "I've got a lot of confidence right now," Parenteau said. "It's a
big thing in shootouts. I had that kind of run two years ago, which
I couldn't miss, and I went on a run where I couldn't score so it's
a matter of being confident in your move and just stick with it and
do it."
Goalie Dustin Tokarski made 31 saves in regulation for Montreal
(9-4-1), which bounced back from a 5-0 loss to Chicago on Tuesday
and a 6-2 loss to Calgary on Sunday.
"It's great," defenseman P.K. Subban said. "The panic wasn't in our
dressing room. If there was panic, I don't know where it was coming
from. In our dressing room we're a confident group and obviously we
knew we had to be better and I'm happy with the effort that we put
forward tonight. It's something for us to build on."
Right winger Drew Stafford scored for the Sabres (3-10-1), who held
their own for much of the game but were unable to build off a 3-2
shootout win over Detroit on Sunday.
"We battled back, we got the (tying) goal," Sabres head coach Ted
Nolan said. "The one thing about shootouts, those things are skill
competitions and sometimes you win them, sometimes you don't. But
the effort tonight I thought was really good."
Neuvirth made 31 saves in regulation and is starting to make the
case for more starts between the pipes. The 26-year-old netminder is
battling with Jhonas Enroth for Buffalo's starting goaltender job
and has made the most of his most recent stretch of games, posting a
save percentage of .918 in five starts.
"The more I play, I feel I play better and I'm feeling good,"
Neuvirth said. "But I've got to keep working hard and good things
will happen."
[to top of second column] |
After two largely uninspiring periods from both teams, things
immediately picked up at the start of the third period. Parenteau
opened the scoring 19 seconds into the third on a rebound
opportunity in front of the Buffalo net. Following a blast from the
point from Subban, Parenteau pounced on the rebound and slid home
his third goal of the season.
Stafford tied the game three minutes later on the power play.
Following a boarding penalty by Montreal left winger Jiri Sekac on
Sabres defenseman Nikita Zadorov, Stafford buried his second goal of
the year following a setup pass by defenseman Tyler Myers.
Montreal left winger Michael Bournival left the game late in the
first period following a hit from Sabres center Cody McCormick.
Bournival appeared to suffer a shoulder injury on the play.
Bournival was spotted wearing a sling on his left arm following the
game.
"That was tough. We'll find out more about him tomorrow," Montreal
head coach Michel Therrien said.
NOTES: D Andre Benoit, D Mike Weber and LW Marcus Foligno were
scratched for the Sabres. Foligno has been out since suffering an
undisclosed injury against Pittsburgh on Nov. 1. ... RW Rene
Bourque, LW Travis Moen and D Mike Weaver (illness) were scratched
for the Canadiens. ... This was the first of four meetings between
the Sabres and Canadiens this season and the 263rd game in history
between the teams. Their next meeting comes Nov. 28 in Buffalo. ...
This was Montreal C Lars Ellers' 300th NHL game. Ellers entered the
NHL as a first-round pick of the St. Louis Blues in 2007 and was
traded to Montreal in 2010.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
