After years of waiting, the Buffalo Sabres finally brought their power play back to life—and just in time for a statement win in their second-round playoff opener. Bowen Byram and Ryan McLeod each scored on consecutive man-advantage opportunities, lifting the Sabres to a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night in Buffalo.
It was a night of firsts for the Sabres, who hadn't seen second-round action since 2007. Josh Doan and Jordan Greenway also found the back of the net, while goaltender Alex Lyon turned aside 26 shots to improve to 4-1 since taking over as the starter in Game 3 of the opening round against Boston.
For Montreal, Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach provided the offense, but the Canadiens looked sluggish after a grueling seven-game series against Tampa Bay that ended just three days earlier. Montreal has yet to string together consecutive wins this postseason, and they entered this game fresh off a series where every contest was decided by a single goal—four of them needing overtime.
The Sabres, by contrast, had four days of rest after closing out Boston in Game 6 on Friday. That extra time paid dividends early, as Buffalo came out flying.
"I like the quick start we got off to. I know we can be a lot better," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said, noting his team looked disjointed at times. "There's a couple situations in the game that we gave them a little bit of momentum."
Doan opened the scoring just 4:31 into the first period, converting Zach Benson's feed on a 2-on-1 rush after Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson turned the puck over near his own bench. McLeod doubled the lead at 13:26, burying another Benson pass through the crease on the power play. Byram then made it 4-1 midway through the second period, snapping a shot from between the circles to match the Sabres' franchise playoff record for goals by a defenseman (four), joining Mike Ramsey (1988), Jason Woolley, and Alexei Zhitnik.
Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes made just 12 saves and allowed four goals after surrendering only two total in his previous two starts against Tampa Bay. The Canadiens will look to regroup quickly, as Game 2 shifts back to Buffalo on Friday night before the series heads to Montreal for Sunday's matchup.