Paul Gaustad stuck it to the Montreal Canadiens on the ice, and then again with his mouth.
Gaustad had a goal and two assists to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-1 win over Montreal on Tuesday night.
Ryan Miller made 27 saves for Buffalo, which won its second straight road game following a 12-game losing streak away from home.
''It's always good to get a win on the road and we just have to turn it around quickly and quit patting ourselves on the back and go out and get the next one,'' said Gaustad, who set up Ville Leino's fourth goal 4:01 into the second period to tie it at 1.
Gaustad beat Carey Price from the goalmouth to give the Sabres the lead 6:17 into the third and assisted as Patrick Kaleta scored into an empty net with 51.1 seconds remaining.
Tempers flared between Gaustad and the Canadiens after the insurance tally.
''He's got a big mouth and he likes to run it, so what can we do?'' Price said. ''You can't worry about what he's got to say because he doesn't do much out there.''
Considering Gaustad's offensive contributions in the game, it's likely that the Montreal goalie's final comment was directed at the Buffalo forward for a play earlier this season when Boston's Milan Lucic ran over Miller.
Gaustad was singled out among Sabres players on the ice at the time for not coming to Miller's defense.
''They asked me where Lucic was and I asked them where they were with (Zdeno) Chara, so it's the same thing,'' Gaustad said.
Gaustad's on-ice reply was directed at Montreal's Max Pacioretty, who sustained a broken vertebra last season on a devastating hit by the Bruins' 6-foot-9 captain.
''It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that's what he meant and I don't think it was right,'' Canadiens left wing Mathieu Darche said.
Pacioretty scored his 18th goal for Montreal, which went into the All-Star break on a 2-0-1 run, capped by a 7-2 win last Wednesday over NHL-leading Detroit.
Price stopped 37 shots.
''He tried to steal one for us and we just didn't let it happen,'' Canadiens defenseman Hal Gill said.
Thomas Vanek, who leads the Sabres with 19 goals, left after the first period because of an upper-body injury. He did not return.
Pacioretty had the tying goal on his stick just past the midway point of the third, but was unable to convert his scoring opportunity from the edge of the crease. Erik Cole, who leads the Canadiens with 19 goals, drilled a shot off the right post in the second.
Leino used a toe drag to pave the way for his tying goal 4:01 into the second. The Finnish forward pulled the puck back with the tip of his stick blade to sneak around Canadiens defenseman Raphael Diaz, gaining the slot before firing a wrist shot past Price.
Pacioretty opened the scoring with an unassisted effort 4:09 in. He flicked the puck past Buffalo defenseman Matt Ellis along the right boards and drove in alone on Miller. The Sabres goalie stopped the initial shot, but Pacioretty put the rebound under Miller's right pad.
NOTES: Sabres C Tyler Ennis returned after missing 17 games because of an ankle injury. ... LW Travis Moen and C Petteri Nokelainen were both out of the Canadiens' lineup with upper-body injuries.
