Jake Allen on Monday made 36 saves to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
Allen made several big stops in net for the Canadiens, guiding Montreal to its second win in a row. Brendan Gallagher, Justin Barron and Tanner Pearson scored for Montreal.
“He definitely did his job tonight,” Pearson said of Allen. “He was a big reason why we won.”
Photo: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY
Jeff Skinner scored for the Sabres, who dominated the flow of play and outshot Montreal 37-27, but Buffalo was unable to capitalize on the scoreboard. Eric Comrie made 24 saves.
“This team and this group will score,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “Yeah, it’s frustrating tonight. You had numerous chances that they didn’t convert on... We know we have goal scorers in here and guys that will make plays. I just think that’ll come.”
Allen’s most important save came on the penalty kill with 8 minutes, 32 seconds remaining. After Canadiens defenseman David Savard blocked back-to-back shots — while losing one of his skate blades in the process — Allen stopped a Skinner shot from the right circle with his glove.
“I feel like [Savard] does it every night,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “He doesn’t lose his blade like that every night. Savvy’s a hockey player. There’s a big difference between someone who plays hockey and a hockey player, and Savvy’s showing that game in and game out that he’s a hockey player. You can’t have too many of those guys. That’s what he does.”
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5