BUFFALO (LGS) — The Montreal Canadiens came into Buffalo as one of the preseason favorites to contend for the Stanley Cup. The Sabres' season-opening game was a huge test for Lindy Ruff's squad, and by all accounts they passed with flying colors.

Thomas Vanek | Derek Roy | Drew Stafford
Buffalo's top line looked dangerous throughout the night, but they did get away from making the simple plays which in turn led to a few too many offensive zone turnovers – especially by Roy. Vanek's goal came at the right time, but he did pass up on a few other good opportunities. That being said, the Sabres' sniper put eight shots on goal. Stafford looked more like the player we saw two seasons ago, and his shootout goal was obviously a big plus. Grade: B-

Daniel Paille | Jochen Hecht | Jason Pominville
Paille has Michael Peca written all over him with the style of game he plays. He was easily the best skater for the Sabres tonight, delivering a handful of huge hits and being a menace on the forecheck.  Hecht and Pominville had relatively quiet nights, but this line is considered Buffalo's checking line and they did keep the high-scoring Canadiens at bay.  Grade: B-

Maxim Afinogenov | Adam Mair | Ales Kotalik
Mair was a last minute addition to the line after Tim Connolly bowed out of the game with a vertebra injury. Mair did a decent job filling in, but he did get caught too high on Montreal's only goal of the game. Afinogenov looked to be in more control tonight, but he still can't seem to find a way to get good, quality shots. Kotalik was quiet in regulation, but he came up big yet again with his patented shootout move. Grade: C

Andrew Peters | Clarke MacArthur | Patrick Kaleta
Kaleta did his job tonight and kept the Montreal defense on its heels. Andrei Markov simply can't function when Kaleta is on the ice against him. MacArthur, who dressed in place of Connolly, ended up with a very solid game. He made a huge case to remain in the lineup even when Connolly returns. Peters was serviceable and didn't look out of place, which is likely why he received over six and half minutes of ice time. All and all, the fourth line did its job well. Grade: B+

Henrik Tallinder | Craig Rivet
As the team's new captain, Rivet had a lot of pressure on his shoulders, and he managed it well. Buffalo's defense was sound against last season's top scoring team, and Rivet was a big reason why. Tallinder was having an average game at best before turning it around during the latter stages. Hopefully Rivet brings out the best in Hank the Tank. Grade: B

Jaroslav Spacek | Andrej Sekera
These two offensive defensemen had only two shots on goal despite playing on the majority of the Sabres' six non-existent power plays. Defensively they kept too large of a gap between themselves and the Montreal attackers. They were both careless with the puck at times, and Sekera was especially soft on the puck prior to Montreal's only goal. Grade: C

Toni Lydman | Teppo Numminen
All and all it was a quiet game from the two Finnish blueliners. Both earned assists on Vanek's goal, but neither player was really part of the play. Numminen took two penalties tonight which is uncharacteristic, but he was still as smooth as ever with the puck. Lydman had the save of the game by clearing the puck off the goal line in the second period after Miller mishandled a Montreal shot. Grade: B

Ryan Miller
Surely many people expected Miller and the Sabres to crumble to the mighty Canadiens offense when Montreal jumped out to an early lead in the first period. But after Robert Lang put the Habs up, the Sabres' netminder was as solid as a rock. He made everything look routine tonight, and that's vintage Ryan Miller. Lang and Saku Koivu had nowhere to shoot during the shootouts as Miller stayed with them the whole way. Grade: A

Power Play
It was almost impossible to watch. The Sabres went 0-for-6 with the man advantage. Getting through the neutral zone wasn't much of a problem, but Buffalo couldn't muster any quality chances once they got into the Montreal zone. The Sabres managed only eight shots in just under eight minutes of power play time, and they looked very vulnerable to counter attacks. Grade: F

Penalty Killing
Any time you keep the Canadiens from scoring a power play goal, you must be doing something right. The Sabres limited Montreal to just three shots against on four power plays totaling almost six minutes. When Montreal did get an opportunity, Miller was there to shut the door. Grade: A-

Coaching
Lindy Ruff had his team prepared to face a highly-touted Canadiens team that many expect to be contenders this season. Placing Mair on a line with Afinogenov and Kotalik seemed odd when a guy like MacArthur might have made more sense in that spot. Ruff also needs to keep track of his team's faceoff stats because Jochen Hecht should not have been the guy taking the draw deep in the Buffalo zone in the dying seconds of overtime. Grade: B-

OVERALL GRADE — B