The Canadian wins 3-2 against the Sabres in Buffalo

Photo: Kevin Hoffman / Getty Images North America / Agence France-Presse
Jonathan Drouin scored the only goal of the penalty shoot-out dam.

Buffalo — The first goal for Jonathan Drouin in the uniform of the Montreal canadiens will not count in his record, but he will take it gladly.

The new center player of the Habs has managed the only goal of the penalty shoot-out dam, and allowed the Habs to start the season 2017-2018 with a 3-2 win over the Sabres in Buffalo on Thursday evening in the KeyBank Center.

Second shooter delegated by head coach Claude Julien, Drouin has made a spectacular deke before beating Robin Lehner with a shot into the top corner of the net. Before Drouin tries his luck, Paul Byron had also foiled Lehner, but the puck ended up on the post to the right of the guardian of the Swords.

Carey Price has confirmed the victory of the Canadian by stopping Sam Reinhart immediately after the purpose of Drouin.

Price has also had a strong game, facing 45 shots while the Canadian raised 40 in the direction of Lehner.

“I know that they are good markers of the other side, but I had a lot of confidence in Carey. It is a victory for us, an important win. This is the first game of the season and we start off on the right foot “, pointed out Claude Julien.

In the first period, Drouin collected his first point with the Canadian on the order of captain Max Pacioretty.

Phillip Danault has been successful the other net on the Habs, at the time the Canadian had to defend themselves short of a man following a minor penalty to Andrew Shaw.

The purpose of Danault came to clear an uneven performance of the Canadian. After a good start to the game, in which the men of Claude Julien have successfully completed the first seven shots on goal, montreal has known moments laborious, particularly in the second period, while the Sabres have amassed 18 shots to Price.

“It was a difficult game at times, but it is a beginning of the season, said Julien. I found that they have dominated the long ramps more than I would have liked to. You should do a little better on that side. We still respected our game plan. We were patient and we found the way to win. Our keeper was solid tonight. It has made all the difference and there was a need for it “, resumed the head coach of the Canadian.

Julien had all the same positive notes to distribute, and one of them went to Victor Mete. In his first official game in the national League, the defender of 19 years, who has played in front of many relatives and friends, has made 25 presences on the ice, he has spent almost 19 minutes on the ice, got a shot on goal, and posted a ratio of defensive over-1.

It even played during the extension period to three against three.

“It has been good. It was good, as we see from the beginning, has analyzed Julien. There is nothing that has changed in his status, in his way of managing his ice time. He continues to amaze us. “

Julien was also pleased with the scoring chances his players had created in attack, even if he also acknowledged that his team was too much.

“Offensively, we were good. There are guys who seem more and more to build a good chemistry, and it is for this reason that in the beginning of the season, it is important to be patient before you decide to make changes. I liked the fact that it had four trios which gave us still good attendance offensive. “

Moreover, the attack to five, the Habs has been held in check in four attempts, despite eight shots in the direction of Lehner.

“We haven’t scored, but we still created chances. Once again, it is to find the way to finish [the game]. “

The Canadian has won his opening match for a fourth consecutive year — a second win in a row at Buffalo — sabotaging at the same time the retraction of the head coach rookie Phil Housley.

The club has also spoiled the return to Buffalo for Jason Pominville, who scored two goals for the Sabres, the first in numerical advantage in the initial commitment and the second, at the beginning of the middle period. Pominville, however, has been unable to defeat Price in the shootout, his shot missing the target.

The Canadian will pick up the necklace on Saturday evening with a visit to the Washington Capitals.

Sunday, at Madison Square Garden, he will play against the New York Rangers, the team that has sent it on vacation last spring.