Highly Skilled Montreal Will Test Buffalo
Montreal Canadiens (4-3) at Buffalo Sabres (4-2)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, New York
TV: TNT, TruTV, HBO MAX
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Montreal Canadiens
Record: 48-24-10 | 106 PTS
Division Ranking: 3rd in the Atlantic Division
Last Game: Defeated Tampa Bay 2-1
PP: 19.2% | Sabres 4.2% <Just SAD!
PK: 82.8% | Sabres 87.5%
What to Watch
1. Careful What You Ask For
Many Buffalo Sabres’ fans hoped to draw Montreal in the 2nd round over the physical, downright dirty Tampa Bay Lightning. This is despite Buffalo going 3-1 this season against Tampa and dropping 18 goals on the Lightning in their last three contests. In fact, the Blue and Gold are an impressive 6-3-1 against the Bolts in their last ten meetings. They have had surprising good fortune against goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. Instead, Buffalo will face the highly skilled, upstart Canadiens team who finished the season on a tear and edged out the Lightning in seven games. The Habs beat Tampa Bay in the deciding game of round one with a grand total of nine shots on goal, winning 2-1.
Buffalo will have their hands full with the high end skill Montreal possesses. Cole Caufield finished the year with 51 goals while Nick Suzuki recorded an astounding 72 assists on route to his first 100 point season. Former first rounder Juraj Slafkovský scored 30 goals and 73 points and on the backend, Lane Hutson was a stud. The young, star defenseman scored 12 goals with 66 assists and was a +36. I know the Sabres can and will skate with the Canadiens but they are ever dangerous to score. Buffalo’s D core and goaltending will need to be on top of their game. The forwards must get back and defend as well.
2. Opportunistic Habs
In the second half of the season, Montreal made a habit of late game heroics. They would be down a goal in the waining moments of the 3rd, under a minute to go, sometimes just seconds to go, and they would often tie it up and win in OT. The Canadiens played desperate hockey right to the final horn and often came away with a miraculous victory. The Sabres must protect against that and put the Habs away when they can, as they are a constant threat. The door must be shut tight for any late Buffalo leads.
Now, here is the reason I preferred a potential Buffalo and Tampa series instead. The Sabres went 2-2 against the Canadiens this season and were swept by them in 2024-25. That makes Buffalo 2-6 against Montreal over the past two campaigns. They have been a tough out for our boys and a real pest. Hopefully, Buffalo comes to play like we have seen since early December, the same team that inched out an Atlantic Division title. The Sabres were able to overcome Boston, another regular season thorn in our side. Now they must do the same with the Habitants from Quebec if they want to advance.
3. Sabres Look to Assert Their Game
For Buffalo, they want to assert their game as much as possible against Montreal. The Sabres generally use their high-end speed and aggressive participation from their defensemen to their advantage. Rasmus Dahlin functions as the top-tier playmaker from the backend but Bo Byram, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson have been a threat as well. Buffalo is even more effective when they get the forecheck going, winning battles and regaining puck possession. That is where players like Josh Doan, Zach Benson, Alex Tuch and Beck Malenstyn come in. A nice blend of the team’s speed and solid forecheck will wear Montreal down, but the Sabres must get more pucks to the net. They often overpass or overthink it too much. Shoot, shoot and shoot some more, especially with traffic in front. Buffalo has consistently ranked among the best in the NHL in shooting % all season, finishing in the #5 spot, so fire away as much as possible.
The Zucker – McLeod – Quinn line went without a goal against Boston, even though they played OKish overall. They will need to be more active on the score sheet in this go-around. Zucker has been close a few times, McLeod has NOT taken the shots when they have been there and Quinn has been more inclined to make a play for somebody else. That trio needs to figure it out, get pucks to the net and shoot when the opportunity is there. Goaltender Jakub Dobes is playing very well in these playoffs for the Canadiens but he is still young with limited experience. I’m not sure if he can be rattled but there is only one way to find out. Buffalo would do well to shoot often AND be active around the Montreal goalie, with bumps and sticks and screens like the Sabres put on Jeremy Swayman. Boston coach Marco Sturm expressed frustration that the Sabres were not penalized for “bumping and hacking” at Swayman. They kept in legal in the referee’s eyes and relentless as well. That really aided in eventually getting pucks past him. The same plan of attack should be used on Dobes.
If the Sabres can get into a rhythm and get all aspects of their game going, they should prevail more often than not. Speed, a strong forecheck, badgering the goalie, secondary scoring and offense from the defense are the keys.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards:
Krebs – Thompson – Tuch
Zucker – McLeod – Quinn
Benson – Norris – Doan
Greenway – Kozak – Malenstyn
*Forward Sam Carrick practiced with the team on Tuesday and could re-enter the lineup soon. He is suddenly and surprisingly ahead of schedule when it looked like he was still weeks away from returning just days ago.
Defense:
Samuelsson – Dahlin
Byram – Power
Stanley – Timmins
Goalies:
Lyon, Luukkonen
Montreal Canadiens
Forwards:
Caufield – Suzuki – Slafkovsky
Gallagher – Newhook – Demidov
Evans – Danault – Anderson
Bolduc – Dach – Texier
Defense:
Matheson – Carrier
Guhle– Hutson
Struble – Dobson
Goalies:
Dobes, Fowler