The Montreal Canadiens faced the surging Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night, in a battle of two Atlantic Division teams on the rise.
It was a hard-fought battle that featured a bevy of lead changes, but in the end the Sabres finally emerged with a 5-3 win, featuring a five-point performance from Tage Thompson.
Let’s dive into the highlights!
American Sniper
Cole Caufield opened the scoring early in the first period thanks to some quick thinking and fast hands off the rush. He captured his own rebound to make it 1-0, his 22nd goal of the year.
Cole Caufield quickly grabs his own rebound to score his 22nd of the year.
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 16, 2026
1-0 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/n822MZqG8m
Powerplay Chaos
The Sabres not only tied the game, but also established a one-goal lead via the powerplay, a good sign of things to come when it came to the impact of the special teams on Thursday night.
Fortunately for the Canadiens, they matched their counterparts, starting with Ivan Demidov‘s 11th goal of the season midway through the powerplay.
Even though you’d expect most teams to do a lot of damage when handed a 5v3 man advantage, that hasn’t necessarily been the case for the Habs in 2025-26. Demidov’s goal was a good reminder that fast passes and smart shots almost always lead to quality scoring chances.
Ivan Demidov scores with a big blast on the powerplay. Assists to Hutson and Suzuki. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/e3AToks4h6
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 16, 2026
Nick Suzuki was next on the powerplay docket, scoring his 15th goal of the year after capitalizing on a Lane Hutson shot. Believe it or not, it was Hutson’s 100th career assist in the NHL, coming in his 132nd game. This means Hutson is the second-fastest defenceman in NHL history to reach the 100-point mark, trailing only Dallas Stars legend Serge Zubov (127 games).
Nick Suzuki capitalizes on the Lane Hutson rebound to give the #GoHabsGo a 3-2 lead.
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 16, 2026
Powerplay goal, Suzuki's 15th of the year. pic.twitter.com/S5DUsqf7R9
Terrific Thompson
There’s no doubt about it, Tage Thompson was the most dominant player on the ice, as evidenced by his second goal of the game, which was also his fourth point of the game, and his 200th career goal. He would go on to score an empty net goal, securing a five-point game in the process.
That’s not to say the Canadiens were the better team if we remove the Sabres star from the equation. Buffalo was clearly the better club, headlined by Thompson’s excellence.
Much like Tuesday night versus Tuesday’s loss to the Washington Capitals in overtime, the Canadiens seemed to run out of gas when the game was on the line, a somewhat concerning trend as the team turns the corner and prepares to head down the final stretch of the season.
Tage Thompson's fourth point of the game gives the Sabres a 4-3 lead: pic.twitter.com/IkCjAOMaek
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 16, 2026
Lost Chance
Oliver Kapanen had a perfect opportunity to tie the game in the third period, but rather than shooting at an empty net, he attempted to go to his backhand before losing the puck.
Seeing as Kapanen has already scored many more goals than anyone reasonable anticipated this season (16), we’ll have to give him a pass on this particular play.
The beautiful game. #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/Nr7a0S5jO7
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 16, 2026
The Montreal Canadiens are back in action on Saturday, facing the Senators in Ottawa. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.
All Montreal Canadiens statistics are 5v5 unless otherwise noted, via Natural Stat Trick.
