It’s all to play for on Monday.
The Sabres charged back from a 3-1 deficit to send their series with the Canadiens back to Buffalo after an 8-3 drubbing in Montreal on Saturday.
Once again, the Sabres started fast. Rasmus Dahlin opened the scoring 32 seconds into the game and even after Arber Xhekaj tied the game one minute later, the Sabres played on the front foot from the opening puck drop. They carried play for large stretches, but were let down by their goaltedning.
Alex Lyon barely made it 10 minutes, getting beat three times and only registering one save on the night. It looked bleak after Lyon made way for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen but Jason Zucker registered a power play tally to bring the Sabres within a goal at the end of the first.
Buffalo had a couple of golden chances in the first with Dahlin and Josh Norris being foiled on partial breakaways. Those two saves felt particularly big as Lyon was sitting on a zero save percentage, but the Zucker goal set the stage for a massive second.
It was all Buffalo from there. The Sabres found their identity – kept it is probably a better description – and rolled through the period with poise. A trio of goals, 17 shots and a pair of kills put the Sabres in the driver’s seat entering the third and they didn’t let up. The final frame was yet another exquisite close-out period for the Sabres. The Canadiens only managed eight shots and eight quality attempts. Only three of their shots came from the house, and the others were from well outside.
The Sabres are truly a different team when they adhere to their identity. When they’re tenacious on the forecheck and are efficient exiting the zone, they’re painfully difficult to play against. Even as the score climbed to 3-1, none of Montreal’s goals were due to getting bulled in the defensive zone or failed exits. One was off a lost faceoff, one was a power play one timer and the third a shorthanded two-on-one. Compare that to game five when they were giving pucks away and missing coverages. It’s night and day. When they manage to play that style and level of game, they can beat just about anyone.
Finding their game early hasn’t been an issue for the Sabres in these playoffs. Maintaining it on home ice will be what it takes if they hope to take game seven.
The Stars Came Out
The play of Dahlin, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch were under the microscope after game five. Thompson and Tuch especially had been ghosts this series and it was overdue for Lindy Ruff to break them up. Dahlin has been good but undisciplined penalties have plagued him. Dahlin and Thompson came to play on Saturday. Dahlin put a goal on the highlight reel to open the scoring and racked up five points on the night. He was a handful at both ends.
Thompson’s empty net goal iced the game and capped a four-point effort. His move to wing seemed to energize him. Norris and Benson were terrific and that high-energy pairing meshed well with Thompson. Ruff pushed the right buttons with the lineup and his two biggest stars respond in a must-win game. They’ll need to do it again on Monday.
Powering Through the Pain
Owen Power took a nasty tumble in the third period of game five but stayed in the lineup in game six, playing 22 solid minutes. Power was terrific throughout too. The Sabres outshot the Canadiens 10-4 with him on the ice, carried a 6-1 advantage in high danger chances and a 76% expected goal share. He made a number of impressive individual plays, including a big board battle on a second period penalty kill and a deft stick check one-on-one against Lane Huston in the third. It’s been a good series for Power and it was a massive boost that he stayed in the lineup for Saturday.
The Rat King
This playoff run has been quite the coming out party for Zach Benson. He was great against Boston and has been Buffalo’s best forward against Montreal. You could even argue he’s been the best forward in the entire series. He’s added some huge goals to his dogged brand of hockey and Saturday’s performance was revelatory. He’s the sort of guy who drags teams into games and he does it in every way imaginable. The signs have been there in his game for a long time, it’s been awesome to see him blossom and capture the attention of fans in Buffalo and beyond.
Time For A Home Win
Buffalo took the first step on Saturday. Their backs were against the wall and they delivered in a big way. Now, they need to take the final step in this series and they need to do it at home, where they’re only 2-4 these playoffs. The boogeyman at KeyBank Center needs to be put to bed. The Sabres have been incredible on the road this postseason and had their fair share of success at home in the regular season. But home wins this postseason have been elusive. This is an unbelievably resilient group and they need to find the extra gear that will put their home woes in the rear view. It’s the only option if they want to keep playing hockey this spring.
Two in the Box 