Buffalo Sabres' Ryan Miller sits on the ice after making a save off the Montreal Canadiens during third period NHL hockey action Tuesday, March 22, 2011 in Montreal. Miller and the Sabres shutout the Canadiens 2-0.Paul Chiasson
This is the time of year where hunger and necessity have more bearing on hockey games than piffling things like talent.
And so it is that the Buffalo Sabres, who clearly had to have a two-point result against the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, did exactly what they had to in order to earn them.
Such are the demands on the team clinging to the eighth and final playoff berth.
"That felt like a playoff game," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said afterward.
By winning 2-0 in a close-checking game at the Bell Centre, the Sabres maintained their narrow lead on the chasing pack - the ninth-place Carolina Hurricanes won in Ottawa to remain three points back.
The Toronto Maple Leafs, whose playoff chances are mostly theoretical at this point, won in Minnesota to end the night five points in arrears, with the remaining games falling into single digits.
Given Buffalo's recent play, it will be a tall order for either to catch them - although they must travel to both Carolina and Toronto in the season's stretch run.
The Sabres may have given away a costly point on Sunday against Nashville - losing in overtime after taking a two-goal lead, and as Ruff said "there was a lot of anger and frustration after that one" - but they rebounded with an absolute peach of a defensive game, stifling the Habs at every turn.
Scoring chances for the injury-depleted Canadiens were in short supply as the Sabres choked off the centre of the ice and played a smart, disciplined game "We knew they had good speed and we wanted to try and plug them up," said Ruff.
Mission accomplished.
Habs' defenceman Hal Gill said his squad needs to reacquaint itself with playing in squeaky tight circumstances as the playoffs loom.
"We're playing a safe game now and that's how it's going to be right til the end. The wheeling and dealing days are over . . . we need to get better at winning these games," he said.
It's not that the home team played poorly, but with their sixth-place seed relatively secure, they may have had an eye turned toward Thursday's grudge match in Boston - their first date with the Bruins since Zdeno Chara rode Max Pacioretty into a stanchion, fracturing his neck.
Still, complacency is not something one admits to in the NHL, even if the atmosphere in the Habs' room was several degrees below panic after the loss.
"We've got eight games to get our game in order . . . we had a good chance to catch Tampa Bay and Boston and we let it slip," captain Brian Gionta said. "We were just a step behind all night, it wasn't anything major in terms of mistakes . . . we just couldn't make it all add up."
Boston's win over New Jersey made the possibility of snaffling first place a moot point.
In any case, the Sabres showed the commitment and opportunism that has made them the northeast division's toughest out since Jan. 1. They are now 21-10-5 in 2011.
Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller was simply flawless in a 31-save performance, earning his fourth shutout of the season.
When he's in this kind of form, one goal is all it takes.
Even when he didn't see the puck - as he couldn't in a late second-period scramble - it managed to find him.
And the former Michigan State Spartan will take particular satisfaction in a pair of grand glove saves against Michigan alumnus Michael Cammalleri.
Miller said after the game that his performance is merely a by-product of a team that has found its feet after a dreadful start to the season.
"The mindset is a lot better," he said, "that comes with guys getting into a groove."
At the other end of the rink, Montreal's Carey Price was only fractionally less stellar, stopping 23 of 24 shots, the only one to beat him was Nathan Gerbe's re-direct of a Tyler Myers pass in the second period after Montreal's forwards got penned in their own zone on a long shift.
"They just got one more bounce than we did," said Price, who was as unflappable after the game as he was during it. "They played a Grade A road game."
Gerbe would add a second into an empty net after stipping P.K. Subban of the puck at centre with 22 seconds to play.
TROPHY TALK
No less an authority than New Jersey Devils netminder Martin Brodeur, the NHL's winningest goalie, weighed in on his choice for the Vezina on Tuesday: Carey Price.
In an interview with Radio-Canada, the 38-year-old goalie, a four-time winner and nine-time nominee for the award, said Price "shouldn't have too much difficulty" in taking top honours.
His reasoning: Price has played more games than his rivals, has had to deal with a raft of injuries to his team's defencemen, and has nevertheless put up elite stats.
"The way Price is winning games, he's the best goalie in the league this year," Brodeur said, adding "he has the wins, the shutouts and the durability."
Going into Tuesday night, Price shared the league lead for wins with 34, was second in shutouts with eight, and had a 2.38 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.
IRON CONSTITUTION
Habs athletic therapist Graham Rynbend marked his 1000th game behind the bench on Tuesday - injured winger Mathieu Darche joked last week that he should be considered in team MVP voting.
The Canadiens' dire injury situation - they are currently playing without eight regulars - may be attenuating somewhat, top scorer Tomas Plekanec skated on Tuesday, as did linemate Jeff Halpern, Darche and defenceman Brent Sopel.
Long-term absentees Andrei Markov and Jaroslav Spacek also skated on their own.
The Canadiens had a bit of a scare when Price appeared to tweak a knee in the pre-game skate, but he was fine come game time, presumably after some ministering by Rynbend.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the health spectrum, Buffalo's Brad Boyes played his 482nd consecutive game, third among NHL ironmen behind Calgary's Jay Bouwmeester and Tampa's Martin St-Louis.