Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson opened the scoring at 6:32 of the first period.
Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images
MONTREAL — Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff kept his comments brief before Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens. After the morning skate at Bell Centre, Ruff declined to confirm any lineup adjustments and gave terse responses during his media session. The previous day had been filled with discussion about how heavily the Sabres were outplayed in a 6-2 loss in Game 3. Even though the series stood at 2-1 in favor of Montreal, there was a palpable sense of urgency heading into the fourth game.
When asked about his team’s mindset, Ruff replied: “The mood is great. We’ve faced challenges all season. This is just another challenge. We know we haven’t played our best hockey yet, and we understand we need to play our best tonight.”
It wasn’t flawless, but the Sabres turned in a much cleaner performance and secured a 3-2 victory thanks to a third-period power-play goal from forward Zach Benson on his 21st birthday. The series now shifts back to Buffalo tied 2-2, with Game 5 set for Thursday night at KeyBank Center.
Buffalo dominated the early stages of the game. They struck first with a crisp passing sequence: Josh Doan took a hit to move the puck to Josh Norris, who then fed defenseman Mattias Samuelsson for a 1-0 lead. By the first TV timeout, the Sabres held an 8-1 advantage in shots. They believed they had a second goal when Konsta Helenius drove the net and redirected a backhand attempt off Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobeš, with Jack Quinn batting the rebound into the goalie’s glove. Officials reviewed the play and determined the puck crossed the goal line while inside Dobeš’ glove. However, Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis challenged for goaltender interference, and the situation room ruled that Helenius made contact with Dobeš’ stick, preventing the goalie from making a play on the puck.
Instead of falling behind 2-0, the Canadiens used the extended review to regroup, with the home crowd energizing them. Just over two minutes later, Montreal forward Alex Newhook tied the game at 1-1. Late in the first period, Cole Caufield capitalized on a power play to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead, despite Buffalo’s strong start.
In the second period, Sabres center Tage Thompson equalized with an odd goal: he dumped the puck off the corner boards, where it bounced out front, off Dobeš, and into the net. That set the stage for a tense third period. Benson’s power-play goal came less than five minutes into the final frame, and the Canadiens mounted a strong push throughout the period. But Buffalo held on to send the series back home tied at two games apiece.
With the loss, Montreal surrendered home-ice advantage back to Buffalo, echoing their struggles in the previous series against Tampa Bay. In that series, they had chances to take a 2-0 lead on the road, go up 3-1 at home, and close out in Game 6 at home, but they lost all three. Now, they add this Game 4 defeat to a growing list of missed playoff opportunities. The Canadiens didn’t play poorly and controlled much of the third period while trying to tie the game, but as they head to Buffalo for Game 5, it will be hard to shake the feeling that they could have been in a much stronger position.
Here are the key takeaways from Game 4:
**Sabres’ Lack of Discipline**
The last thing any team wants is to give Montreal’s dangerous power play extra chances. So it was troubling to see Buffalo’s lack of discipline on Tuesday night. The players taking penalties included captain Rasmus Dahlin (two), Jason Zucker, Thompson, and Bowen Byram (two, including a four-minute double minor). These are veterans who should know better.
Thompson’s cross-checking penalty on Kaiden Guhle late in the first period could be considered a soft call, but why put himself in that position 200 feet from his own net when Guhle didn’t have the puck? The result was Caufield’s power-play goal.
On the positive side, credit Buffalo’s penalty kill. Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was arguably their best penalty killer, making key saves. The Sabres limited the damage to just one power-play goal against, and they were especially impressive in killing off Byram’s four-minute double minor.
“He was phenomenal,” Thompson said of Luukkonen. “He made huge saves at critical moments that gave us momentum. Their power play is very dangerous, and he was our best killer tonight. Sometimes when you get scrambled in the D-zone or on the kill, a big save calms everyone down. He did that several times for us.”
Still, the Sabres cannot afford to take these penalties. It’s a recipe for disaster against Montreal and shows a lack of composure.
**Missed Opportunities for Montreal**
While the Canadiens got a power-play goal from Caufield, going 1-for-7 with the man advantage was not good enough. Byram’s double minor for high-sticking Alexandre Texier at 18:31 of the second period, with the score tied 2-2, was a golden chance to seize control, but they wasted it. The Canadiens fumbled pucks and failed to generate enough shot volume during the four-minute power play, a pattern that repeated throughout the game. The Sabres seemed intent on handing the game to Montreal, but the Canadiens were unable to accept the gift.
**Thompson Gets a Lucky Bounce**
Thompson’s second-period goal to tie the score 2-2 was bizarre. On a power play, he had the puck near center ice and ripped it into the corner. The puck bounced off the Zamboni door and shot directly in front, hitting Dobeš and going in. Both Thompson and Buffalo’s power play had struggled in the series, and that bounce was badly needed. After having a goal overturned earlier due to goaltender interference, the Sabres finally got some puck luck. The Bell Centre corner is notorious for such bounces because of the Zamboni door, and Dobeš should have anticipated it. After Luukkonen allowed a goal on a bouncing puck from center ice against Boston in Round 1, the hockey gods evened things out for Buffalo.
**Sabres’ Lineup Changes Pay Off**
Buffalo made three lineup changes before this game: Luukkonen started in net, rookie forward Konsta Helenius made his playoff debut on the third line, and veteran defenseman Luke Schenn replaced Logan Stanley on the third pair. All three moves worked. Luukkonen made several massive saves, especially during penalty kills. At one point in the second period, he made consecutive cross-ice saves on Caufield to keep the score 2-1. Helenius had two shots and won all four of his faceoffs, and he would have had an assist on the overturned goal. Schenn played a limited but steady role, logging almost three minutes of shorthanded ice time.
Earlier in the series, Ruff moved Benson to the top power-play unit, and that paid off with his third-period goal. The Sabres needed in-series adjustments, and they got the right ones.