BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Cole Caufield scored twice, including the game-winning goal, to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 7-5 victory against the Buffalo swords Monday.

The win ended a six-game losing streak for the Canadiens and ended a three-game winning streak for the Sabres.

Caufield’s two goals put him 12th in the league for the season. His second goal was a power play goal with 7:02 remaining in the third period, allowing the Canadiens to maintain the lead.

Buffalo’s leading scorer Tage Thompson and defenseman Mattias Samuelsson left the game with lower body injuries and did not return.

Rasmus Dahlin and Dylan Cozens each had a goal and an assist for Buffalo. Thompson, Peyton Krebs and JJ Peterka also scored for the Sabres.

Nick Suzuki scored twice and had an assist and Juraj Slafkovsky had three assists for Montreal. Josh Anderson, Christian Dvorak and Emil Heineman also scored.

Takeaways

Sabres: Thompson scored for the fourth straight game. Only three Sabers in the last 25 years have had longer streaks: Jason Pominville (six in 2006-2007), Dahlin (five in 2022-2023) and Thomas Vanek (five in 2008-2009).

Canadiens: Suzuki’s assist on Caufield’s goal gave him 300 career points in 389 games played, the fourth fewest games in Canadiens history over the last 35 years after Stéphane Richer (336), Saku Koivu (381) and Chris Chelios (385).

Key moment

Thompson left the game with 18:08 remaining in the second period.

Key statistic

The Canadiens’ seven goals are their most in a game since scoring nine against the Philadelphia Flyers on April 9, 2024.

To be continued

The Sabers wrap up a three-game homestand against the St. Louis Blues while the Canadiens complete a four-game road trip against the Minnesota Wild each on Thursday night.

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