Sabres 5, Canadiens 1: Patrick Lalime faced 39 shots on Wednesday night and turned aside all but one in Buffalo's 5-1 thrashing of Montreal. Derek Roy and Paul Gausted each scored a pair of goals for the Sabres, as they raced out to a commanding 5-0 lead.Lalime weathered the storm in the first period, turning aside 18 Montreal shots, until Roy started the party for Buffalo netting a power play goal at the 17:53 mark of the period.
Gaustad scored a power play goal and a shorthanded goal just five minutes apart in the third period, while Tomas Plekanec ended Lalime's shutout bid with just over a minute to play in regulation. Lalime has played well in place of injured started Ryan Miller, stopping 120 of 127 shots (that's an impressive .944 save percentage).
Carey Price, meanwhile, made his first start since February 19 and surrendered five goals on just 27 shots. He's now lost six straight starts, posting a dismal .844 save percentage in the process. He's given up at least five goals in four of the starts.
For Montreal, the loss snaps a four-game winning streak, while Buffalo ends its three-game losing skid.
Wednesday's other game
Red Wings general manager Ken Holland described Marian Hossa as "day-to-day" after his scary fall on Tuesday night, while his teammates took on their rivals in Colorado.
Daily rebounds
-- Miroslav Satan and Gary Roberts cleared waivers on Wednesday. Seems kind of odd that nobody could have found an open spot for a guy with 17 goals in the NHL this season (Satan). No, he's not the player he was in Buffalo, and he's absolutely a one-dimensional player at this point, but nobody could use him? Without giving up an asset in return? Bizarre.
-- We didn't really offer much coverage of the final trade to be announced on Wednesday afternoon, but Brian Burke trades for Olaf Kolzig (and Jamie Heward) on the same day he claims Martin Gerber off waivers. Apparently the plan is to rebuild the Maple Leafs one washed up goalie at a time.
Thursday's key games
-- Huge game in Miami as the Penguins take on the Panthers. The two teams are separated by only two points in the standings.
-- Columbus, fresh off its trade for Antoine Vermette, is in Nashville for a big Western Conference tilt.
-- Oh, and let's not forget Sean Avery makes his return to the Rangers with a game on the Island.
