Here are my three takeaways from tonight's 4-3 Montreal Canadiens win over the Buffalo Sabres, brought to you by Snap Bar Sportif and Biggs. 1- Reinbacher solid except for one shift David Reinbacher made his much-anticipated Bell Centre regular-season debut and didn't look out of place. His skating and mobility really stood out, as did his sound defensive positioning. Reinbacher did have one particularly challenging shift where he turned the puck over with a pass to nobody, couldn't recover his positioning and eventually ended up in Jacob Fowler's crease, desperately trying to block a shot. It was a sequence where he simply tried to do too much. But mistakes like that are going to happen, especially for a young defenseman finding his footing in the NHL. To his credit, he responded well and settled into a quieter, more composed game the rest of the night. He saw a little more ice time in the third period, which was encouraging, but without a role on special teams, he didn't see nearly enough action, finishing with fewer than 10 minutes. Overall, it was a step in the right direction, but it's difficult to draw too many conclusions from such a limited sample. 2- The PK is figuring things out Buffalo's power play isn't particularly good, but Montreal's penalty kill has been showing some encouraging improvement lately. The aggressiveness when the puck is near the blue line has really stood out, and their ability to defend zone entries has been noticeably better over the last handful of games. This was an area Montreal desperately wanted to improve after last season, and with Derek Lalonde overseeing the penalty kill, there was always going to be an adjustment period. But the Canadiens appear to be adapting quickly. They're playing more connected as a unit, their pressure and swarming tactics have been better timed, and they're doing a much better job limiting dangerous scoring opportunities. There's still work to be done, but the early signs are encouraging. 3- Montreal lacks killer instinct Perhaps the most concerning early-season trend for Montreal is its inability to put teams away when the opportunity presents itself. The Canadiens have played some good hockey, but they continue to let opponents hang around longer than they should. It's becoming a recurring theme. The best teams recognize when an opponent is vulnerable and know how to deliver the knockout punch. Montreal had that opportunity against Buffalo in the second period and failed to capitalize. The biggest missed opportunity came during an extended 5-on-3 power play. Not finding a way to convert was a squandered chance to take control of the game, and it ultimately breathed some life into Buffalo heading into the intermission. Montreal did score a power-play goal in the first period with a new look that featured Zach Bolduc replacing Chris Kreider, but the unit is still far from firing on all cylinders. Yes, getting Ivan Demidov back will certainly help in that department, but the Canadiens can't simply wait for his return to solve their problems. At some point, they need to develop the ability to put teams away when they have them on the ropes. They're finding ways to win games, which is obviously the most important thing, but it would be nice to see them deliver a convincing victory without giving their opponent an opportunity to hang around. @tsn690