Goaltender Ryan Miller slid across his crease to snuff out Mike Cammalleri's power-play attempt in the final minute, preserving Buffalo's 4-3 road victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night.

Miller finished with 21 saves at Montreal's Bell Centre and stood tall as Montreal pulled goalie Jaroslav Halak to gain a two-man advantage as the game wound down.

"I was just glad to get in the way," Miller said of the Cammalleri save. "He probably missed it just a bit, probably wanted to go a little higher. He put it back into me just a little bit, but I was happy to get there in time to make a difference."

The Canadiens fired several long-range shots toward Miller before finally working the puck down low, with Cammalleri unable to pot his second goal of the game.

Clarke MacArthur atoned for a missed defensive assignment just two minutes earlier by stuffing in a power-play goal at 14:41 of the third, which held up as the winner.

Montreal took seven minor penalties in the game to give the Canadiens 170 on the season, the second highest amount in the league after Philadelphia's 172.

"It's very, very upsetting that we did it again tonight," said Habs winger Cammalleri. "It's obviously not the refs when you do it six or eight games in a row. We can't have it."

Andrej Sekera, Patrick Kaleta and Tim Kennedy also scored for Buffalo (20-9-2). Jochen Hecht had one of his best games this season, finishing with two assists.

Andrei Kostistyn scored a pair of power-play goals and set up a Cammalleri marker for Montreal (15-16-3). Halak made 23 stops.

Montreal impresses with three-way passing play

Montreal is 0-2-1 in the last three. The Canadiens did well to beat Miller three times. Buffalo had yielded just 15 goals in the 10 preceding games.

The Sabres have won five of the last six between the clubs this season, including two this season.

Rookie defenceman Tyler Myers nearly scored early for Buffalo, but Canadiens defenceman Hal Gill cleared the puck from the crease after the shot trickled past Halak.

Travis Moen and Glen Metropolit tested Miller early on for Montreal.

Kostitsyn's one-timer from the left circle opened the scoring at 16:03 of the first. Marc-André Bergeron set up the goal by keeping the puck inside the Buffalo blue line, and Tomas Plekanec's pass set up Kostitsyn.

"He's shooting the puck exceptionally," Cammalleri said of his linemate. "When he gets going and starts playing, he's such a load."

Miller kept it a one-goal margin early in the second after taking Cammalleri's shot off the shoulder while MacArthur burst down the right side but couldn't beat Halak.

Montreal impressed with a nifty three-way passing play in the Buffalo end, but Kostitsyn ran out of room out front, electing for a backhand redirection that Miller muzzled.

Kaleta managed another short-handed goal

The Sabres had the Canadiens hopping on a power play at the 12-minute mark and finally capitalized near its end, with Sekera blasting a point shot behind Halak, who appeared to be screened by a battle in the slot.

Hecht completed a 2-on-1 with Mike Grier late in the period, but his backhand volley was stopped by Halak. Grier was in the lineup for the first time in nine days after taking a personal leave.

Kaleta, who had just seven goals in his career heading into this season, then notched his third in two games to put Buffalo up with 59 seconds left in the middle period.

Kaleta took Tim Connolly's pass in stride and beat Halak with a deke for a second short-handed goal in as many games.

"He worked hard to get up ice," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "It wasn't an easy goal, but it turned into a real pretty goal."

The Canadiens put immense pressure in the slot on Miller in the final minute but couldn't get the puck through.

They scored early in a busy third, with Kostitsyn in the slot to finish off work done by Plekanec and Cammalleri.

Montreal has scored in seven of the last 16 power-play opportunities.

The clubs exchanged even-strength goals in 18 seconds later in the period. Hecht was again involved, doing effective digging in the slot to set up Kennedy's shot that snuck between Halak's arm and the post at 12:33.

MacArthur got caught watching the play, allowing Cammalleri to zoom by and finish a give-and-go with Kostitsyn for his team-leading 18th of the season.

"The one thing you really hate as a team is to give up a goal right after you score, and we did that," Ruff said. "But we stayed grounded after that and went back to work."

MacArthur would put the dagger in, however, finishing off a dominant Buffalo power play.

The Sabres have outscored opponents 11-5 in its current four-game win streak.

Montreal hits the road for a game Wednesday in New Jersey, returning for a Bell Centre game the following night against Minnesota.

With files from The Canadian Press