And it continued on in the third, for a EIGHT TO THREE WIN. It started like pretty much every other game this series, with a quick goal by Buffalo (Rasmus Dahlin with a nifty drive the net after being fed by new first-liner Benson)…followed by three Canadiens goals including a shorty.
However, old man Zucker got one back late in the first after Alex Lyon got chased (the three Montreal goals were scored on gettable shots), and the entire second period was played in the Habs end. Zach Benson tied the game, picking up a loose puck that slipped through the five hole of Dobeš. Konsta Helenius scored to make it 5-3 Buffalo after some hard work by Zucker (and a sharp pass).
The scoring continued in the third, with Tage Thompson feeding Jack Quinn for a one-timer snipe that chased the Montreal goalie. Tage followed that with an empty-netter, and Zach Metsa (who was great in his first-ever playoff game) got the eighth goal on a late power play when the team was just trying to run out the clock.
The rough stuff started after that, with Montreal having no answers for the Sabres in regular play. Arber Xhekaj, Alexandre Carrier, Jake Evans, and Kirby Dach all got misconducts (Xhekaj has been pissed at Greenway since game 2 warmups) while Benson, Krebs, and Norris got to hit the showers early on the Buffalo side.
Game seven is Monday night. One game to keep a remarkable run going.
There’s a tendency with Buffalo sports to wait for the other shoe to drop. No matter how the last game went, how the last series went, there’s always a little spot in the back of your mind wondering how it all goes wrong. You wait for the first goal, or that easy Josh Allen TD, to relax. The Sabres delivered tonight in spectacular fashion, scoring *four* goals in the first en route to a 6-1 obliteration of the Boston Bruins. Less than five minutes in, Fraser Minten gives the puck away on the half-wall, and Alex Tuch serves up a sweet pass to Peyton Krebs for the first goal. That set the tone for the first period, where Boston seemed completely unprepared for the pace of play as the Sabres skated around and through Boston. Josh Doan added the second goal on a sweet redirect of a McLeod pass. Two minutes later, Doan steals the puck in the Bruins zone and delivers it to Zach Benson who drives the neat and sneaks it in from beneath Swayman’s pads. The last goal of the first comes on a D to D pass from Owen Power to Bowen Byram, where Swayman’s pads get caught on one of his own players in front of the net, which stopped him from getting across for the play.
Whew, that was a lot! The second period saw Boston wake up and realize the game was at 2pm, but they were unable to get anything past Alex Lyon. This is the time that little spot in the back of your mind makes itself known again. We’ve already had a wild comeback in this series, you know?
But there was no comeback to be had tonight, as Beck Malenstyn tips a Jordan Greenway shot into the net to get to 5-0. This is followed about 90 seconds later by a Thompson feed to Alex Tuch at the front of the net, and it was 6-0. Swayman would be taken out shortly after this, most likely to get him some rest after the abuse his defense allowed him to take. Seriously, none of this was his fault, and you can see him letting his team know here:
Sean Kuraly would break the shutout up with less than a minute to go to get to our final, 6-1. The last notable even was a wicked cross-check/sucker punch combo away from the play by Nikita Zadorov on Rasmus Dahlin:
Lindy Ruff stated after the game that he understands where the emotion comes from (as a man who once flying tackled a goalie who hit him in the face, he should) but to me, this shows me that the Bruins aren’t nearly as tough as they claimed to be. Marco Sturm called his team bigger, stronger, and more physical, and maybe they are, but their mental toughness is in question. The Bruins had no answer for what the Sabres did on the ice tonight, and ended up resorting to cheap shots and message-sending late. It didn’t come off as tough, it read as pathetic. You can contrast it directly with the Game 2 loss from the Sabres. Down 4-0, goalie chased, they clawed their way back with two late goals to make it respectable. At the exact same point in this game, Nikita Zadorov broke his stick over Dahlin.
Game 5 is Tuesday at 7:30 back here in Buffalo. If the Bruins want to show how tough they are, they’ll have to take 2 on the road.
Okay, so last night’s game ended GREAT (5-0!) despite getting heavily outshot in the first two periods. Colten Ellis stood on his head, his back, his elbow, and every other part for his first career shutout while the Sabres offense woke up for 4 goals in the third period.
But honestly? WHO CARES IT WAS SO MUCH FUCKING FUN! The crowd was rocking, singing along with songs, chanting at the terrible officiating (some things never change), and booing Columbus whenever possible.
It wasn’t perfect as I felt like Buffalo wasn’t being physical, and had a little bit of their previous passing problem, but they figured it out in the third. Peyton Krebs opened the scoring in the first, and the lights-out play by Ellis kept that as the winner. Josh Doan scored twice, including an amazing individual effort where he stole the puck right off the stick of Charlie Coyle and fired it home. Jack Quinn scores the next one on a 4 on 2 breakaway, and Doan gets his second moments later on a beauty of a feed by Hobbit/Vampire Zach Benson (seriously, look at any picture of him). Dahlin finished things off with a 200 foot empty net goal.
Buffalo now sits at 106 points, tops in the Eastern Conference. They play in Chicago Monday, and the final *regular season* game of the season if Wednesday at home against the Dallas Stars. What a ride the past few months have been.
The Islanders score a late goal to pull within one after giving up an empty-netter, but don’t have enough to beat the Sabres in regulation. Buffalo gets goals from Jack Quinn, Tage Thompson, Peyton Krebs (pictured) and a 198 footer from Bowen Byram into the empty net. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made some dynamite saves, and one of the Islander goals came on a bad angle shot that went in off of Owen Power.
One worrying injury as Sam Carrick left the game after a fight with Anders Lee. Carrick was thrown down to the ice and immediately clutched his arm/shoulder. He was stepping up to get some payback on Lee after the Islander knocked Norris into the boards, but may have paid the price. Hopefully he’s okay, and Buffalo does have the depth if he’s out for a bit.
It wasn’t 100% back to form but I felt like this was a much better game from the Sabres. They were right on the Isles forwards in the defensive zone and were constant pests on the forecheck. They didn’t make a *ton* of mistakes playing the puck, which was the issue during the losses they had recently. Even when it was tied, I never thought they’d lose.
One. Hundred. Points. Hell yeah. Buffalo’s back in action Thursday night in Ottawa taking on the Senators.
