Call of the Wilde: Montreal Canadiens take Buffalo Sabres by surprise with 3-1 win

The Montreal Canadiens headed to Buffalo to take on the Sabres. Global Montreal hockey analyst Brian Wilde has more on the Monday night game.

It’s a busy week for the Montreal Canadiens with four games on the schedule. It started with a date in Buffalo against the Sabres, an unusual team to assess. They have some of the best young talent in hockey, but have not learned how to win regularly with that talent.

The Sabres, of whom much is expected, only have two wins in seven games as the Canadiens walked into Buffalo to post a 3-1 win.

The Canadiens are a much better team than last season. Many of the players who were sometimes over their head last season because they were just getting started are better players this season. It’s a long list of players who are improving under Martin St. Louis’ system.

Leading the way is every single one of the defenders who are playing their sophomore seasons. Arber Xhekaj is throwing his opponents around like they are a lesser species. It’s as if they have no muscles when they meet Xhekaj, who is taking penalties because he’s too strong. Just a light push on the back from Xhekaj and players are going flying.

Jonathan Kovacevic is another who quietly plays a very efficient game. He rarely makes mistakes, and you really don’t notice him much as a player because he is not flashy. Jordan Harris is exactly like Kovacevic — quietly excellent.

The real coming-of-age story on defence, though, is Justin Barron. He has only been in a couple games, but he looks excellent this season. What a bonus this would be for the Canadiens for Barron to be all that they hoped for when they dealt for him and lost Artturi Lehkonen.

Barron was strong against the Washington Capitals on Saturday night and he was even better on Monday night, opening the scoring for Montreal. He saw the opportunity on the rebound and absolutely wired a one-timer into the top of the net.

However, the biggest improvement on the team is the most important improvement for the organization. They took a massive chance on Juraj Slafkovsky and in his first season there must have been some anxious sleeps for GM Kent Hughes watching him be overmatched.