Shots: MTL 30 | BUF 22
Buffalo Sabres Goals:
- Samuelsson (Norris, Doan)
- Thompson (Dahlin) (PP)
- Benson (Doan, Thompson) (PP)
Montreal Canadiens Goals:
- Newhook (Evans, Demidov)
- Caufield (Slafkovsky, Hutson) (PP)
Final Thoughts
Well, that was stressful. Buffalo started strong but then came absurdity. Quinn looked to have given them the two-goal lead, just to have a coach’s challenge for goaltender interference wipe it out after a lengthy initial review to see if a glove clearly in the net was good enough for a goal. Not only was that a horrible call due to Guhle being the biggest impediment to Dobes on the play, but the reviews took forever. It completely killed the momentum Buffalo had earned with their strong start and gave Montreal the time to regroup the sorely needed.
They took advantage of the break and took control of the game, tying it at 1 and taking the lead late in the first. The officiating was horrendous. For a second-round playoff game, I’ve never seen so many soft calls and clear dives all go against one team.
Dahlin’s interference on Guhle was weak enough, but the crosscheck called against Thompson was egregiously bad and led directly to a Montreal lead.
Montreal looked like they were trying out for a World Cup appearance with their constant flopping. Even LeBron would be embarrassed, but you can’t blame them with the refs gifting them powerplays with every dive. After Dahlin drew a double minor (of which the ESPN announcers, hopefully jokingly, said he might be trying to make a pre-existing cut bleed), the hockey gods evened the score with a merciful bounce for Tage’s tying goal. It felt like justice for the nonsense in the first half of the game.
Who else but the birthday boy and breakout star of the playoffs secured the game winning goal with a powerplay marker early in the third. Benson’s hands were on full display with his slick move in front to beat Dobes on the glove side.
Buffalo did a good job of preventing dangerous chances and walked out of Montreal with a tied series. This was a crucial win that could have easily gotten away from them.
Credit to Buffalo for battling through nonsense to return home with the victory. Now the series is a best-of-3 with potentially two home games. With a little more stick discipline, the Sabres have a very good shot at winning.
Holy moly Byram.