The Buffalo Sabres spent weeks dragging around a powerless power play — then turned it into the defining storyline of Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens.

Buffalo’s 4-2 win Wednesday night at KeyBank Center was about control. The Sabres dictated the pace early, forced Montreal into undisciplined mistakes, and punished the Canadiens every time the game tilted toward special teams.

After entering the second round buried under criticism for a power play that had gone ice cold late in the regular season and through much of the first round, Buffalo suddenly looked dangerous again with the extra attacker — and that completely changed the tone of the series opener.

Montreal never looked fully settled in the opening period, and a large part of that came from the Canadiens repeatedly putting themselves on the wrong side of the whistle. Buffalo attacked with speed off the rush, pressured Montreal’s defense into hurried decisions, and capitalized on loose puck battles that forced the Canadiens into scrambling situations.

The Sabres quickly made those mistakes costly.

Josh Doan opened the scoring early in the first period, giving Buffalo immediate momentum before the Canadiens had a chance to establish any structure. From there, the game began tilting heavily toward special teams. Ryan McLeod doubled Buffalo’s lead on the power play midway through the opening frame, finishing off a sequence that showcased far better puck retrievals and cleaner movement than the Sabres had shown at any point late in the Boston series.

Instead of overhandling pucks along the perimeter or settling for one-and-done possessions, Buffalo attacked decisively. The Sabres won loose pucks, created second opportunities, and finally looked confident operating with space.

As Josh Doan put it afterward, “it was hit-or-miss throughout the end of year,” but Buffalo emphasized recovering pucks and avoiding “one-and-dones” on the power play — something the Sabres executed far better Wednesday night.

Montreal briefly grabbed life when Nick Suzuki scored on the power play late in the first period, but even that moment failed to slow Buffalo’s push.

One of the biggest differences Wednesday night was how effectively Buffalo rolled through its lineup. While Montreal spent much of the night trying to recover from early penalties and chase momentum, the Sabres continued finding production from secondary pieces.

Jordan Greenway restored Buffalo’s two-goal cushion early in the second period after capitalizing on defensive confusion around the net, and Bowen Byram later added another power-play goal that effectively reestablished control after Montreal had started finding some offensive rhythm.

Buffalo’s stars did not dominate the scoresheet, but the Sabres hardly needed them to. Their depth forwards consistently won battles below the goal line, pressured Montreal’s breakout, and forced the Canadiens into uncomfortable defensive-zone shifts that drained energy from their top players.

Doan and Zach Benson were especially effective driving play in the middle six, and Buffalo’s third line repeatedly tilted the ice whenever it jumped over the boards.

That depth also helped neutralize Montreal’s top unit at even strength. Outside of isolated pushes, the Canadiens struggled to generate sustained offensive-zone pressure five-on-five, and many of their best opportunities came only after Buffalo turnovers rather than controlled offensive execution.

Lindy Ruff pointed to that balance after the game, noting that Buffalo has consistently relied on “another line” stepping up when the team’s top players are contained.

For Buffalo, the biggest development may have simply been psychological.

The Sabres entered the night carrying the weight of a brutal stretch on the power play. They closed the regular season without a power-play goal over their final weeks and then managed just one goal with the man advantage in their entire first-round series against Boston. Every failed opportunity had started creating more hesitation.

Wednesday looked completely different.

The puck movement was quicker. Entries were cleaner. Players attacked downhill instead of waiting for perfect looks to develop. Most importantly, Buffalo finally looked aggressive retrieving pucks after missed shots or blocked attempts — an area that had completely disappeared during their slump.

The Canadiens’ lack of discipline only amplified that issue. Montreal repeatedly lost positioning in transition and forced itself into reactive penalties trying to recover defensively. Against a power play desperate for confidence, that became a dangerous formula.

Ruff acknowledged afterward that Buffalo “took advantage of some good breaks” while also making “a couple of good plays” on the power play.

Buffalo also continued receiving elite goaltending from Alex Lyon, who once again stabilized the game whenever Montreal threatened to push momentum the other direction. Since replacing Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen during the Boston series, Lyon has given the Sabres a calming presence in net and allowed them to play aggressively in front of him.

Kirby Dach’s second-period goal briefly tightened the scoreline, but Buffalo closed the game down effectively in the third period, limiting Montreal’s clean looks and avoiding the kind of defensive breakdowns that fueled chaos earlier in the playoffs.

Now the pressure shifts squarely onto the Canadiens entering Game 2.

Montreal showed flashes offensively, particularly from Suzuki’s line, but the Canadiens spent too much of the night chasing the game after self-inflicted mistakes. Against a Buffalo team that suddenly looks confident again on special teams, that is not a sustainable formula for winning this series.

Martin St. Louis still believed there were positives for Montreal despite the loss, saying afterward he liked that the Canadiens’ top players “got more touches and space,” but he also admitted Montreal has to be better in 50-50 puck battles and managing the puck in the offensive zone.

Game 2 takes place on Friday. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. local time from KeyBank Center.