BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) – Niklas Sundstrom scored with just under three minutes remaining to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.

Sundstrom deflected Steve Begin’s shot from the right point, beating Buffalo goalie Martin Biron.

Alexander Perezhogin and Michael Ryder also scored for the Canadiens, who won their third straight.

The Canadiens improved to an NHL-best 6-0-1 on the road, and won for the first time in eight games in Buffalo.

Montreal has won eight of 10 one-goal games this season.

Rory Fitzpatrick and Adam Mair scored for Buffalo, which lost for the fourth time in five games.

Fitzpatrick opened the scoring just under three minutes in, putting a slap shot from the middle of the blue line past goalie Yann Danis on the power play. It was Fitzpatrick’s third goal, one short of his career high.

Perezhogin tied it midway through the first with his fourth goal. After receiving a pass from Andrei Markov, Perezhogin skated into the high slot and let go a wrist shot that deflected off Sabres forward Derek Roy’s stick and past Biron.

Buffalo took a 2-1 lead just 49 seconds into the second period when Mair converted Ales Kotalik’s pass into his first tally of the season. Kotalik gathered Montreal defenseman Sheldon Souray’s turnover along the right boards and hit Mair at the side of the net with a perfect pass.

Ryder tied it five minutes into the third with his team-leading seventh goal. Ryder picked up a loose puck behind the Buffalo net and skated out to the front, wristing a shot through Biron’s legs.

Danis was making his third appearance of the season and second career start as Jose Theodore was given the night off. Danis finished with 23 saves in earning his second win of the season.

Notes: The teams will play again Saturday night in Montreal. … Sabres No. 1 G Ryan Miller underwent surgery on his broken right thumb Friday and is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks. … Canadiens C Radek Bonk missed his third game after injuring his groin before Monday’s win over the New York Rangers. … Sabres RW Mike Grier missed his first game because of a hip injury sustained Wednesday. … Roy and Jason Pominville played in their first game after being recalled from Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester on Thursday.

AP-ES-11-04-05 2237EST


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