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. After entering the second round buried under criticism for a unit 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.

Buffalo’s 4-2 win Wednesday night at KeyBank Center was all 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. Montreal never looked fully settled in the opening period, largely because they kept 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.

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. They 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 a foothold in the second period, but the damage was done. Buffalo had turned their biggest weakness into their biggest weapon, and the Canadiens were left chasing the game. For a team that had struggled to find any rhythm with the extra man, this was a statement performance—one that could shift the entire series dynamic.