Give the Buffalo Sabres an 'A-plus' at every position for their 3-1 victory on Tuesday. And while you're at it, you can also give the finger to the Canadiens, who now find themselves ranked No. 13 in the East.

What they also managed to do with an empty performance during which the Sabres outshot the Canadiens 40-28, was stay within eight points of the last playoff spot - but only because the Florida Panthers weren't part of the NHL schedule.

Trouble is, what the Canadiens now face are more teams to chase. Worse, the teams they were chasing did what they had to do and what the Canadiens were supposed to do - which is win.

The New Jersey Devils, for example, took care of business with a shootout 4-3 victory over the visiting Rangers. In the process, they moved into No. 7 in the East, and hold a game in hand over the Canadiens.

The No. 13 Islanders visiting the No. 15 Hurricanes? No problem - this time by a 5-2 score. They've now moved ahead of the Canadiens and hold a game in hand.

And oh: have I mentioned that Tampa Bay also has moved ahead of the Canadiens and hold a game in hand courtesy of a 4-3 overtime win over the visiting Washington Capitals?

Add this: Canadiens head coach Randy Cunneyworth later was to describe this loss as a "big disappointment," but the reality is that for one reason or another his team didn't show up.

The Canadiens were outscored, out-worked, outbattled, out-thought and outskated. Not even close.

If you're counting, this was Buffalo's fifth consecutive victory in Montreal - despite running into all kinds of problems winning on the road. Go figure, eh?

The problem is once again the Canadiens were the gang that couldn't shoot straight or, more to the point, goaltender Ryan Miller saves his best for the Bell, even though he was beaten for the game's first goal by Max Pacioretty 4: 09 into this one-sided game. Pacioretty did it all by himself when he (a) poked the puck off the stick of left-winger Matt Ellis at the Canadiens blue line, and (b) easily pulled away from him and swept in on Miller with plenty of room to spare.

However Miller, who's gone through too many nights he'd like to forget this season, stood tall on the breakaway, stopping Pacioretty on his short shot. There was nothing the goaltender could do on the short rebound he left.

Where, though, did the Canadiens go after taking their one-goal lead into the first intermission?

Here's the point: you lose points when you allow the opposition to outshoot you 9-1 in the first eight minutes of the second period, among them a tying goal by Ville Leino.

Furthermore, the Canadiens got away with one when the Sabres missed an open net while P.K. Subban was sitting out a silly tripping penalty. As it turned out, head coach Randy Cunneyworth had a few words with Subban when he returned to the bench, with a little bit of arm-waving to go along with whatever he was saying to his defenceman.

The Canadiens almost got away with this one. Halfway through the period, they were being outshot by the Sabres 21-10, which isn't a recipe for success on most nights. You had to look long and hard to find a Canadien who earned his pay on this night. On the other hand, don't even think of putting Pacioretty, who had eight shots, and Erik Cole in that group. They were the only Canadiens to turn up the heat at a time when the Sabres dominated.

Late in the second period, Cole was still playing as hard and as well as he was on shifts early in the game. It's what high-quality players do and it almost paid off when he fought off a couple of Sabres, found himself alone in front of Miller - and was unable to hold onto the puck.

Make no mistake about it: when you're looking for a leader on this team, don't look beyond Cole. It's why Cole, who struggled with the Canadiens during the first couple of weeks of the schedule, now leads the team in goals and assists, followed closely by linemates Pacioretty and David Desharnais.

rfisher@montrealgazette.com