Pre Game
Hutson came out in a pregame interview acknowledging his poor start to Game 1. Expect him to come out firing and looking to make an impact early. Caufield has not found the back of the net, and Tage Thompson has not scored since Game 1. The superstars on both teams need a big bounce-back game. Buffalo's powerplay did get two goals last game, but that came from PP2.
Period 1
What a start for Montreal. Newhook finds the back of the net just 1:36 into the first period, totally sucking the crowd out of the game early. To no surprise, Habs fans are trying to take over KeyBank Center. Three minutes later, Mike Matheson turned sniper, bar down off a great faceoff win from Phil Danault. Montreal is a team of vibes and they have it going in this one.
What hurts vibes is penalties. Carrier fumbles a puck right in Montreal's slot and has to trip Jason Zucker to save a Grade A chance for the Sabres. Back in the pregame I mentioned Buffalo's PP1 struggles. Lindy Ruff saw enough and elected to start with PP2. Didn't matter. Montreal shuts the Sabres down completely, winning just about every draw and controlling the pace of play through the midpoint of the first.
Dahlin takes an interference penalty at 11:47, giving Montreal a chance to put a dagger in early. Lyon comes up huge with big stops on Caufield and Suzuki. The Sabres kill it off, holding Montreal's powerplay to just two shots.
Josh Doan takes a poor penalty with just over a minute left in the first. Montreal carries the powerplay into the second.
Period 2
Montreal starts with fresh ice and a powerplay. They're trying to get things set up when Demidov gets run over by Greenway and heads to the dressing room. He does return to the bench, though it's worth watching whether he gets back on the ice. The Sabres kill the penalty with a great clear from a one-gloved Malenstyn.
Carrier takes another tripping call, sending Buffalo back to the powerplay. At this point, Buffalo might want to just stay at five-on-five. Montreal kills it off with ease and the crowd is getting on the Sabres for the lack of man-advantage production.
Dobson takes a huge hit to get the puck out to Jake Evans, creating a two-on-one with Evans and Newhook. Evans sends a perfect backdoor pass and it's 3-0 Montreal, Newhook's second of the game. Most in the building think that's the dagger, but Xhekaj takes a brutal slashing penalty way behind the play, gifting Buffalo another powerplay. The Sabres hit return to sender for the third time.
All things are coming up Montreal at the halfway point. Samuelsson bobbles the puck at the Montreal blueline and has to trip Suzuki before he gets a breakaway. The resulting powerplay was Montreal's best of the night but Lyon stood tall again, keeping the Sabres off the board for the fourth time. Demidov was back on the ice for that shift, his first since the Greenway hit.
Montreal continues to control play while Buffalo runs around, a complete reversal of Game 1's momentum. Montreal keeps taking sloppy penalties, including a too-many-men call with 5:22 left in the second. Buffalo gets better zone entries but can't convert. Matheson jumps on Benson, who has been a thorn in Montreal's side all game. It ends in four skaters aside, good work from Montreal to protect their goalie.
37.2 seconds left. Zack Benson is a man on a mission. He forechecks Hutson into a mistake and blown coverage, then taps in a perfect cross-ice pass from Conor Timmins. We have a game heading into the third.
Period 3
With the late goal, can the Sabres get back into this? The crowd has come alive and you can see belief starting to set in. The Sabres have the jump to start the third but Dobes is standing tall, keeping the building a little quieter than Buffalo would like.
Tage Thompson forgets how to skate, turning the puck over at the Montreal blueline. Carrier has a two-on-one, keeps it and snipes it off the post and in. That is the momentum killer. Montreal up 4-1 with 15 minutes left and this one is just about over.
The Sabres push back but Montreal's sticks are breaking up everything. They are forcing Buffalo to go the full length of the ice, red line and dump it in. Smart hockey. Good playoff hockey. With 10:15 left, the Canadiens are looking to close out the split.
Montreal has had great defensive positioning, not giving an inch. The Sabres are frustrated and it shows. Byram takes an elbowing penalty with 6:52 left. He lost his head on that one, but it will not affect the outcome either way.
Cole Caufield had a chance to end his goalless streak, goes bar down and out. The bounces are just not going his way.
The Sabres pull the goalie with just over four minutes left. Tage bobbles the puck again at the red line and Suzuki buries it from center ice into the empty net. Montreal controlled this game from the jump and came ready to play. Buffalo fans have left the building, and there is a lot of red in the stands.
Anderson takes a pound of flesh out of Greenway, resulting in a powerplay for Buffalo with three minutes left. You can hear Go Habs Go echoing through KeyBank Center. The refs try to keep a lid on it, but Benson takes an offensive cross-checking penalty to close things out.
Montreal takes Game 2, 5-1. A huge response on the road after a tough Game 1. The Canadiens get the split heading home, and the hatred between these two teams is starting to bubble.
Game finals
- Final score: 5-1 Montreal
- Series: 1-1
- Shots: Buffalo 26, Montreal 28
- Faceoffs: Buffalo 23, Montreal 30
- Hits: Buffalo 44, Montreal 18
- Powerplay: Buffalo 0/5, Montreal 0/5