The Buffalo Sabres finally won, snapping their 18 game losing streak, and Brandon Montour, with friends and family eagerly watching at home, set an NHL record in the process.
Montour set the NHL marker for fastest consecutive shorthanded goals by a defenceman. He scored two goals only 37-seconds apart in the third period of Buffalo’s 6-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. The Sabres lost 18 games in a row before slamming the brakes on their skid with the resounding victory over on Wednesday.
That gives the 26-year-old 4 goals and 12 points on the season.
He is considered a trade target heading toward the NHL trade deadline as the former Chatham-Kent Cyclone is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Montour was originally selected 55th overall in 2014 by the Anaheim Ducks, and quickly climbed the ranks thanks to an outstanding offensive ceiling. In 2015-16, his first full season of pro hockey, the young defenseman scored 57 points in 68 games for the San Diego Gulls. He followed it up with a near point-per-game pace the next season, before eventually getting the call to the NHL.
Once at the highest level, he continued to produce offensively, though his defensive play was brought under scrutiny. Montour had 32 points in his first full NHL season, including scoring five powerplay goals. It looked like he would be a pillar of the Anaheim blueline for years, even if some of the others might have to carry some of the defensive load.
Instead, Montour found himself traded to the Sabres in 2019, but now, it is promising that right-handed, puck-moving defensemen are always in high demand at the deadline.