Sabers 1 — Canadian 6 | Laine and the Canadian treat themselves to a feast

Patrik Laine took advantage of easy prey to party at the Bell Centre.

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Laine scored three goals, all on the power play, and the Montreal Canadiens crushed the Buffalo Sabers 6-1 on Tuesday night.

This is an 11^e career hat trick for the 26-year-old Finn, and a first in a Canadian uniform. His last hat trick dates back to January 14, 2023, when he wore the colors of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Against the Sabers on Tuesday, Laine hit the mark each time with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle.

Laine now has six goals in seven games with the Habs, all scored on the power play from essentially the same spot.

For their part, the Sabers conceded an 11^e straight setback (0-8-3). Their owner Terry Pegula made a quick visit to Montreal on Monday to meet the players. This obviously did not have the desired effect.

The Canadian sometimes played with the same ease as the famous Harlem Globetrotters. Yet we are talking about the same team that started the day in last place in the Eastern Conference and lost 9-2 in front of its fans last Thursday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and an assist, while Josh Anderson and Joel Armia also scored for the Canadian (12-16-3). Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson each had two assists and Samuel Montembeault made 20 saves.

Dylan Cozens provided the Sabers’ timid response (11-17-4). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed six goals on 21 shots in the first two periods of play. James Reimer took over in the third period and made six saves.

The Canadian will take charge again on Friday, when he visits the Detroit Red Wings. The two teams will cross swords again the next day at the Bell Centre.

Party evening

Armia started the hostilities by scoring after only 19 seconds of play. He took advantage of a favorable jump from the boards and against the skate of a referee to inherit a loose puck and an open net in front of him.

Moments later, Anderson hit the post, then Brendan Gallagher had a goal robbed by defender Connor Clifton, who came to the rescue of his goalkeeper.

Laine thought for a few moments that he had scored a first goal at 5:09, but replays showed that he hit the post and the goal was canceled.

It was only a postponement for the Finnish maverick. He beat Luukkonen for the first time on the power play at 6:24. It was the Habs’ ninth shot on goal in the game, while the Sabers still had zero.

A punishment against David Savard slowed the Canadian’s momentum. Alex Tuch had a great chance with a point-blank shot, but Montembeault made the save.

The Sabers also started the second period strong. Montembeault made a spectacular save against Jiri Kulich thanks to a good lateral move.

Cozens then put the Sabers on the board at 3:42, after being left alone in the slot.

The Canadian regained control of the match by restoring his two-goal lead at 5:54. Slafkovsky deflected the puck off Luukkonen’s back and it ended up behind the goal line.

Laine then blew the roof off the Bell Center by scoring twice on a two-player power play within a 70-second span, at 9:45 and 10:55 of the period. He thus brought his career total to five goals against Luukkonen, on only six shots.

Anderson added more with 44.7 seconds left in the second period, taking advantage of an open net to make it 6-1 in favor of the Habs.

The third period was just a formality. The Sabers players probably would have preferred to be able to shake the opponent’s hand and give up earlier in the game.