Two in the Box

The Sabres delivered an answer after getting badly outplayed in back-to-back games. Buffalo played with purpose and put Montreal on the back foot early in the first period. They were rewarded with an early goal driven through none other than the Benson-Norris-Doan line and looked to be poised to pile on but Jack Quinn’s tally was wiped on after a goalie interference review. 

I’ll be interested to see what the reaction is to the review on Quinn’s goal. It was nearly a 10 minute delay of the game to first determine whether or not the puck crossed the line on Quinn’s shot and then to determine whether or not there was goaltender interference. The review process wasn’t helped by the fact that ESPN’s “rules analyst” couldn’t articulate what was being reviewed. The entire process was a mystery as no one knew if the league was looking at Quinn’s stick, and whether it pushed Dobeš’ glove into the net, or Konsta Helenius who made contact with Dobeš as he drove the net. I’d like to know if Martin St. Louis even knew which player’s actions were under scrutiny given how the play unfolded, with Kaiden Guhle doing just as much to impact Dobeš as the two Sabres. It may just be water under the bridge, but the dice roll nature of the challenge and the potential for two players to be under scrutiny by the situation room, really doesn’t help build faith in a system very few fans and media have any respect for. To borrow from Joe Yerdon’s reaction, it’s awfully hard to square that Dobeš was interfered with when he still managed to glove the puck. If he was truly interfered with would he have been capable of making that near save? 

That’s far too much time to devote to the NHL’s review system. The offside review only serves to over-litigate narrow plays that don’t affect the flow of the game and goaltender interference is one step from becoming the old foot-in-crease rule. It benefits no one and it’s a hallmark of a league that regularly steps on rakes. Luckily the Sabres weren’t too badly penalized by the call. The delay zapped the energy from their confident start, but Tage Thompson was rewarded with a Forum Ghosts level goal in the second, so we are fortunate to not need to hear about how that call cost the Sabres a chance to get back into the series. 

Buffalo’s start was indeed commendable. They were active and effective in transition and were frustrating the Canadiens on zone exits. The shot chart and attempts reflected their dominance. It was the style of play they need to stay committed to, if they can manage it, they’ll be in good shape over the final games of the series. 

Special teams are still a huge sticking point. The Sabres did indeed get a power play goal, playing the Habs even in the special teams battle. But the Sabres simply can’t keep feeding power plays to the Canadiens. They’re far too dangerous with the man advantage to survive playing so much of these games a man down. Buffalo had to kill six penalties tonight, including a double minor, and I don’t have any time to hear about whether or not there were soft calls or if the Canadiens were diving. Buffalo put themselves in a terrible spot with several undisciplined penalties. They need to clean that up for game five and beyond, there’s no alternative. 

Best of Three

I didn’t feel great about falling behind in this series against a team with Montreal’s firepower. Especially after games two and three. The Sabres responded and came out of Montreal with a well-earned and necessary split. Now it’s a best of three series and the Sabres have retaken home ice (although that hasn’t been much of an advantage for many teams this offseason). Finding an answer has been a hallmark for this Sabres team and pulling themselves off the mat after getting skated out of the rink for a pair of games shows they’re not out of gas just yet. 

UPL Stands Tall

It was a sizeable gamble to plug Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen into the Bell Centre crease on Tuesday. He’s been off for three weeks and he re-entered the Buffalo net in a must-win situation in a hostile environment. The two first period goals he allowed were a little leaky, particularly the Cole Caufield power play tally, but he grew into the game. Luukkonen was steady for the Sabres, their most valuable penalty killer and managed the third period beautifully as the Sabres choked out the clock. You can count on seeing him again on Thursday night after he got the Sabres back into the win column. 

Konsta!

The moment didn’t look too big for Konsta Helenius. He was an active threat throughout the game and his work rate was evident at both ends of the ice. His net drive created the chance that led to Jack Quinn’s disallowed goal and he had two glorious chances in the third on odd man rushes. Go back and watch each of those. After he was stopped by Dobes on his first look (a shot that was about 10 inches off the ice), he got the puck up higher on the second look knowing how Dobes got across previously. Of course, he hit the post on that one, so he’ll have to pot his first NHL playoff goal later in the series. Helenius was so effective that his ice time didn’t need to be managed. Ruff rolled him out late in the game and he was as steady as he was in the first period. That added energy was a boost for the Sabres and he gives them a bit more depth to play with in their center core. 

Power Play Adjustment Paying Off

Jason Zucker had stagnated on the power play and the Sabres hadn’t been very effective utilizing the bumper. So, Zach Benson was a welcome change when it came to game three’s power play adjustment, because he has the traits that would make him a great bumper scorer. I don’t want to overrate a single sequence, but I feel a lot better about how Benson finished the game winner tonight compared to what Zucker offered or what Alex Tuch had done in that spot in the past. The addition of Benson and Josh Doan to that first unit has paid immediate dividends. They’re better entering the zone and they’ve changed how the Canadiens choose to attack the PP structure. Doan is quietly effective playing along the goal line and getting Norris out of the equation may have been the most beneficial change the coaching staff made. Doan’s ability to create off the goal line means the penalty kill needs to respect a third playmaker outside of Thompson and Dahlin. That’s a huge boost as so much of what plagued that unit, was the dead zone on the right side of the unit. 

The power play still has its warts, but I think this unit, which is far less polished than their counterparts in red, has the juice the prior first unit lacked.