Buffalo takes the series opener against Montreal 4-2 on Wednesday.
The Buffalo Sabres did not repeat the same mistakes they displayed in the opener of their first-round series against Boston late last month, struggling to find their energy until late in the third period, before scoring four goals in the final 10 minutes. The Sabres were energetic from the drop of the puck, put the Montreal Canadiens on their heels for the entire game, took an early 2-0 lead and remained in control in a 4-2 win in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Final on Wednesday.
Josh Doan, Ryan McLeod, Jordan Greenway, and Bowen Byram scored for Buffalo, Zach Benson had assists on both first-period markers. Alex Lyon made 26 saves in his fourth win of the postseason.
"I think we wanted to emphasize on getting to their D early and trying to force turnovers, (Zach Benson) does an unbelievable job of that throughout every game," Doan said after the game. "(It was a) great start by him and it got the building on their feet."
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Another trait from the first round that Buffalo did not repeat was their struggles with the man advantage. Although their top unit was still ineffective after going 1 for 24 against Boston, the Sabres second unit cashed in twice on three opportunities.
"It was one of those nights where we had to get more pucks back in retrievals. We were losing too many battles and too many easy one and dones," Doan said. "One series is over, off to the next, and we have two in this series already. So it's going well."
The pace of the series and the difference between the tight checking Bruins and the Canadiens seemed to be to Buffalo’s benefit in Game 1. Montreal never seemed to gather their equilibrium at any point during the game, even after Nick Suzuki cut the margin in half at the end of the first. The most glaring difference from their series victory over Tampa Bay was the mere mortality of Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes, who had a .923 save percentage and 2.03 GAA in seven games against the Lightning.
In Game 1, the Habs netminder allowed four goals on just 16 shots. Montreal’s top line of Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slavkovsky did combine for a power play marker, but did not have much of an impact at five-on-five, which might prompt Montreal coach Martin St. Louis to shake up his lines for Game 2 on Friday.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff indicated after the game that team captain Rasmus Dahlin, who was injured blocking a shot late in the third period, was fine after the game.
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