Sabres vs. Canadiens Game 1: Key takeaways as Buffalo charges to tone-setting home win

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff bracketNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterStanley Cup Jordan Greenway's second-period goal extended the Sabres' lead to 3-1. Rebecca Villagracia / Getty Images Share article1BUFFALO — Coming into their second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens, the Buffalo Sabres were still trying to find a way to make the most of the home-ice advantage they earned in the regular season. The Sabres won all three games on the road against the Bruins but managed only one home win. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff theorized that there were more distractions at home and possibly more nerves trying to give the home crowd its money’s worth. “Being ready to play at home, every individual has his way of preparing,” Ruff said. “I think you stay with your program. You don’t try to do too much. You don’t add too much to your schedule. Whatever works for you, you make that work. Can you get too fired up? I think you can. I would probably take that player over the guy who maybe isn’t fired up enough.” Whatever the Sabres did before Game 1 against the Canadiens, it worked. The Sabres played their most complete home game of the playoffs, scoring five minutes into the game and racing out to a 4-1 lead by the second period. They held on to win 4-2 to take a 1-0 series lead. The Canadiens were never down by more than a goal in their seven-game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but the Sabres put them on their heels early. Sabres winger Zach Benson took advantage of Lane Hutson stumbling at the defensive blue line, and grabbed a loose puck before setting up Josh Doan for the opening goal less than five minutes into the game. Then the Sabres’ power play busted out of its slump when center Ryan McLeod scored with another primary assist from Benson. Unlike their series against the Bruins, though, a two-goal lead was far from safe. The Canadiens kept pushing and got a power-play goal of their own from Nick Suzuki late in the first period. But the Sabres got off to another fast start in the second when Jordan Greenway scored through a screen on a shot that tipped off Jakub Dobeš’ glove. Buffalo got another power-play goal from the second unit later in the period to take a 4-1 lead. Kirby Dach scored a goal for Montreal late in the second period, but the Sabres, who were 26-2 when leading after two periods in the regular season, locked the game down in the third period to take the series lead. Coming out of such a tight-checking, suffocating first-round series against the Lightning, the Canadiens wondered if the Sabres would be a better stylistic matchup for how they usually want to play, with some space to create offensively and perhaps more rush opportunities off turnovers. That turned out to be true, just not for the Canadiens, as it was the Sabres taking advantage of errors to create scoring opportunities. Game 2 is Friday in Buffalo. Here’s what we saw in the opener: Benson picked up where he left off in the first round. After scoring a decisive goal in Buffalo’s series-clinching win against Boston in Game 6, Benson was all over the ice in the first period against Montreal. He drew a penalty in the first minute of the game, then had the primary assist on the Sabres’ first two goals. His line was trusted with some tough defensive minutes against Montreal’s top line, and it passed the test. The Sabres had 57 percent of the expected goals during Benson’s five-on-five minutes in Round 1. He’s once again looking like one of their most impactful players. And he doesn’t turn 21 until next week. Good news for Montreal is Anthony Cirelli won’t be in a Sabres uniform this round. The Selke Trophy finalist and his Lightning line did an incredible job against Suzuki’s top unit last round. Montreal came into Game 1 hoping its top line, reunited for Wednesday’s Game 1, would have more free ice to work with this round. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff didn’t go out of his way to chase matchups in the opening round with Boston, so how Buffalo would match up was an intriguing buildup to Round 2. In Game 1, Ruff didn’t really target a matchup line with Suzuki, other than making sure he had any of this top-four defensemen out there. He seemed comfortable rolling his forward lines regardless, which is consistent with the first round. Comparing the two team’s power plays, which came into this series a world apart, will likely be a major storyline in this series. The Sabres entered the second round needing to find answers on the power play. They’d scored one power-play goal in their last 46 opportunities since April 2, combining the end of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs (1-for-24). So yeah, scoring twice with the man advantage in Game 1 was a relief, no doubt, for the Sabres. It should be noted, though, that those goals came from the second power-play unit courtesy of Ryan McLeod and Bowen Byram. Depending on how you look at things, there’s probably still concern that Tage Thompson’s No. 1 unit still couldn’t get it done. On the flip side, the Canadiens connected on their very first look on the power play in the first period when Juraj Slafkovský found Suzuki with a pretty setup. Montreal’s five dangerous options on its top unit will be a mighty challenge for the Sabres’ penalty kill. But second power-play unit or not, Buffalo will take two goals on the night; it is the first time since March 31 against the islanders that the Sabres have had multiple power-play goals. After being outshot 12-0 in the second period of Game 7 against the Lightning, the Canadiens once again came out of the first intermission completely flat, nullifying any potential momentum they might have gained by Suzuki’s power-play goal in the final minute of the first period. Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis likes to say he doesn’t correct one-offs and looks more for trends, but in the playoffs, two games might in fact constitute a trend. Kirby Dach salvaged things somewhat with a goal late in the second, his third of the playoffs, to make it interesting in the third, but that second period was once again unkind to the Canadiens. The shot total was not nearly as drastic as it was in Tampa, but the Sabres had a 4-1 edge in high-danger chances, had a few extended shifts in the Canadiens’ zone and generally controlled the flow of play. The concept of defense pairings once again does not apply to the Canadiens blue line. Noah Dobson practiced with Jayden Struble on a third pairing on Tuesday in Tampa and warmed up with Arber Xhekaj on the third pairing Wednesday. But ultimately, just as he did in Game 7 against the Lightning, Dobson spent most of the game playing with Lane Hutson to his left. The two played basically every second shift as the Canadiens attempted to close the gap in the third. The result was a mishmash of defense pairings. Kaiden Guhle, for example, played significant minutes at five-on-five with four different defense partners through two periods. That worked for Montreal in Game 7, but perhaps a bit more stability back there is a better formula against a deeper Sabres forward group than they faced in the first round. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms