Montreal goalie Annti Niemi gets his first shutout for the Canadiens.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Antti Niemi made 35 saves to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-0 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday.
Niemi got his first shutout of the season and first with Montreal.
Artturi Lehkonen, Paul Byron, and Brendan Gallagher scored for the Canadiens (27-36-12), who ended a four-game losing streak.
Linus Ullmark made 21 saves for the Sabres (23-39-12) who have lost three straight and five of the past six games (1-4-1).
The Sabres and Canadiens have each been eliminated from contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Lehkonen gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 4:56 of the second period when he scored on a rebound of a shot by Jacob de la Rose.
Byron scored an empty-net goal with 1:15 remaining in the third period to make it 2-0, and Gallagher scored into an empty net with 44 seconds left for a 3-0 lead.
Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons returned after missing the past two games with an undisclosed injury.
Up Next
The Sabres travel to New York to take on the Rangers Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.