Stanley Cup Playoffs - Eastern Conference Semi-Final
5/18/26 - 7:30 pm at KeyBank Center, in Buffalo, NY
TV - US - ESPN, Canada - CBC Hockey Night In Canada
Buffalo – 50-23-9 | - 109 points – 1st place in the Atlantic Division
Montreal – 48-24-10 | - 106 points – 3rd place in the Atlantic Division
Special Teams
Buffalo
Power Play(Reg) – 19.5% (21st)
Power Play(Playoffs) - 10 for 48 - 20.8% (7th)
Penalty Kill(Reg) – 81.9% (4th)
Penalty Kill(Playoffs) - 32 for 41 - 78.0% (12th)
Montreal
Power Play(Reg) – 23.1% (10th)
Power Play(Playoffs) - 12 for 51 - 23.5% (6th)
Penalty Kill(Reg) - 78.2% (18th)
Penalty Kill(Playoffs) - 39 for 53 - 73.6% (13th)
Top Scorers
Buffalo
Tage Thompson: 12 GP, 5 G, 10 A, 15 PTS
Rasmus Dahlin: 12 GP, 3 G, 10 A, 13 PTS
Josh Doan: 12 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 10 PTS
Montreal
Lane Hutson: 13 GP, 2 G, 11 A, 13 PTS
Nick Suzuki: 13 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 12 PTS
Cole Caufield: 13 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 PTS
Starting Goalies
Buffalo – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (3-2, 3.36 GAA, .875 Sv %)
Montreal – Jakub Dobes (7-6, 2.59 GAA, .906 Sv %)
Other Sabres Stories
Sabres Line Combinations and Pairings
Forwards
Zach Benson - Josh Norris - Tage Thompson
Josh Doan - Ryan McLeod - Alex Tuch
Jason Zucker - Konsta Helenius - Jack Quinn
Jordan Greenway - Peyton Krebs - Beck Malenstyn
Ex., Tanner Pearson, Josh Dunne, Tyson Kozak
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power - Bowen Byram
Zach Metsa - Conor Timmins
Ex. Luke Schenn, Logan Stanley, Michael Kesselring
Goaltenders
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Alex Lyon
Colten Ellis
Injuries
Justin Danforth (lower body, Oct. 18; injured reserve)
Jiri Kulich (blood clot, Nov. 4; injured reserve - out for the season)
Noah Ostlund (lower body, Apr 28; week-to-week)
Sabres Playoff Stats Leaders
Shots: Dahlin/Thompson/Tuch (41), Doan (29), Byram (28)
Hits: Samuelsson (44), Malenstyn (38), Tuch (35)
Blocked Shots: Timmins (30), Samuelsson (23), Tuch (15)
Notes
With a win in tonight’s game, Buffalo would advance to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2007. It would mark the seventh time the Sabres have appeared in the Conference Final/league Semi-final (1975, 1980, 1998, 1999, 2006, 2007).
A win tonight would mark the Sabres’ fourth playoff series victory over the Canadiens in franchise history. Buffalo’s only Game 7 victory came on April 29, 1997 vs. Ottawa (3-2, OT) in the 1997 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.
In his last seven games, Zach Benson has registered eight points (4+4). Benson is two goals shy of Danny Gare’s record, set in 1975, for goals by a Sabres skater age 21 or younger in a single playoff year (7; 20 years old).
In his last eight games, Rasmus Dahlin has posted 12 points (3+9),
including at least one assist in four straight games. Dahlin needs two points to match the most points registered by a Buffalo defenseman in a single playoff year in franchise history (15; Jason Woolley and Zhitnik in 1999). Woolley and Zhitnik appeared in 21 games in the 1999 playoffs and tonight is Dahlin’s 13th game of the 2026 playoffs.
Tage Thompson has tallied 15 points (5+10) in 12 playoff games thus far, including eight points (3+5) in his last four games. Thompson’s eight points (3+5) in his last four games are the most by a Sabres forward in any four-game span in the playoffs since Derek Roy notched nine points (3+6) from May 2 to 10, 2006.
Konsta Helenius has recorded a goal in two consecutive games and a goal in tonight’s game would make Helenius the youngest skater in franchise history to record a goal streak of three or more games in the playoffs.
Josh Doan has registered 10 points (3+7) in his last nine games, including seven points (2+5) in six games against Montreal in this series.
Jack Quinn has recorded four points (2+2) in his last two games, including a multi-goal effort in Game 6 against the Canadiens (2+1). Quinn joined Thompson as the only Sabres skaters to record a multi-goal game in the 2026 playoffs.
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