Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens Are Headed to Game 7 With an ECF Spot on the Line
Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson both had four points Saturday night as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Canadiens 7-3 to force a Game 7. The Eastern Conference Finals berth goes to whoever wins in Montreal on Monday.
The game got out of hand fast. Buffalo scored three power-play goals in a dominant second period that blew the contest open. The Canadiens pulled starter Jakub Dobes, who gave up six goals on 33 shots, and replaced him with Jacob Fowler, who got his first NHL playoff experience under the worst possible circumstances.
For Montreal, this game was a mess from the jump. Juraj Slafkovsky struggled. The power play couldn’t convert. And the penalty trouble that plagued the Habs gave Buffalo’s man-advantage unit exactly the opportunities it needed to take control of the game. Bell Centre was loud but the Canadiens couldn’t channel it.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff is in a peculiar position now. His team is 5-1 on the road and 2-4 at home this postseason. If they’re going to reach the ECF, they’ll need to flip that home script in the most important game of their season. He confirmed Saturday that Buffalo likely won’t practice or skate before Game 7, using the rest to ease pressure rather than grind through sessions that might add fatigue.
Dahlin and Thompson are both playing at an elite level right now. Dahlin tied the franchise record for points in a playoff game with four, matching a mark set by John Tucker and Derek Roy. When your defenseman is playing like that, you can beat anyone.
Game 7 is Monday night. Carolina is watching. One of these teams is about to find out what a conference final feels like.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
