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The Buffalo Sabres leveled their ongoing second-round competition against the Montreal Canadiens, securing a determined win on Tuesday evening.
Zach Benson netted the deciding goal, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen successfully blocked 28 attempts, enabling the Sabres to narrowly defeat the Canadiens 3-2. This occurred in a fiercely contested Game 4, marked by extended video replays, unusual puck deflections, and frequent infractions, bringing the second-round playoff contest to an even standing of two victories each.
Goals for Buffalo also came from Mattias Samuelsson and Tage Thompson, the latter via a fortunate redirection. This allowed the Sabres to rebound subsequent to losing Games 2 and 3 with an aggregate score of 11-3. Josh Doan contributed two assists, and Thompson earned a single helper, concluding his evening with two points.
Luukkonen performed admirably in his initial outing following a Game 2 defeat during the first round versus Boston. He took over for Alex Lyon following two consecutive one-sided losses.
Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield found the net for Montreal, a team that converted only one out of seven power-play opportunities. Jakub Dobes registered 19 stops.
The competition will now move to Buffalo for the fifth game on Thursday evening, subsequently returning to the Bell Centre for the sixth game on Saturday.
Benson Converts Power-Play Opportunity
Benson gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead by scoring on a power play at 4:41 of the third period. He maneuvered a backhand shot beyond Dobes’s catching glove from the crease’s perimeter while Jake Evans was serving a penalty for holding.
The Canadiens were unable to exploit a four-minute power play extending from late in the second period into the third. During this time, Luukkonen thwarted Ivan Demidov, and Nick Suzuki failed to hit the target on a prime scoring opportunity.
Further into the third frame, Dobes glided across his goal crease, expertly foiling Konsta Helenius on a two-on-one rush. He even dropped his stick to execute the stop, reinvigorating the atmosphere at the Bell Centre.
Dobes once more prevented Helenius from scoring with less than three minutes remaining, employing his blocker to make the save and maintain the one-goal differential.
The Canadiens’ netminder subsequently vacated his post for an additional attacker as two minutes remained, however, Montreal was unable to generate a significant scoring opportunity before the clock expired.
The widely acclaimed ambiance of the Bell Centre, which had garnered accolades across social media throughout Canada and the United States this week, intensified after Sunday’s victory and reached an additional ear-splitting climax prior to the opening face-off, especially after the Sabres felt the intensity during Game 3.
On this occasion, Guy Carbonneau — who captained the Canadiens to their last Cup victory in 1993 — brought the symbolic torch into the arena’s lower section. The volume of cheers then escalated to deafening levels as Dobes’s inclusion in the starting roster was declared, preceding the vibrant crowd’s full-throated rendition of “O Canada.”
Nevertheless, the visiting team initiated the scoring at 6:32 of the first period. Samuelsson completed an impressive passing sequence with Josh Norris and Doan during a rush, as the Sabres notably outshot their opponents 8-1 in the early stages.
Sabres’ Score Disallowed Following Review
An unusual chain of events unfolded fewer than two minutes later. Jack Quinn’s potential goal, which Dobes initially seemed to thwart, was first declared a score and subsequently overturned after a dual review process.
Quinn directed a shot into Dobes’s catching glove from a rebound, which prompted a stoppage in play. Match officials examined the incident during the latter part of the subsequent television timeout, determining that Dobes’s glove, along with the puck, had traversed the goal line.
However, Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis successfully contested the play for goaltender interference, arguing that Helenius had made contact with Dobes before Quinn’s shot. This decision ignited the crowd into a frenzy following the ten-minute interruption.
Montreal’s Mayor, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, extends a message of backing to the Montreal Canadiens as supporters gather to cheer on the squad, and she discusses her experience managing the city amidst the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This shift in circumstances entirely altered the game’s flow, as the high-performing Newhook equalized the score at 10:08, transforming a feed from Jake Evans into his fifth goal across three matches.
Caufield subsequently provided the Canadiens with a 2-1 advantage, scoring with just 13 seconds remaining in the initial period. He deftly sent a shot between Luukkonen’s pads during a power play, following Thompson’s unnecessary cross-checking infraction.
Luukkonen reacted in the early second period by making two outstanding stops against Caufield during another Canadiens power play, first blocking him from the slot and then extending his pad to thwart a one-time attempt.
Thompson later scored an unusual goal from a dump-in originating at centre ice, leveling the score during a power play seven minutes into the second period. Rather than continuing along the end boards, the puck deflected unexpectedly off a corner edge, then ricocheted off Dobes’s leg pad and into the net.
Kwabena Oduro of CBC inquired how supporters of the Montreal Canadiens handle pressure while watching their team compete in person at the city’s celebrated arena. Their approaches to mitigating stress vary, from gently nudging other spectators to snacking on popcorn.
