Greenway delivers key goal to energize Sabres in Game 1 win

BUFFALO – Jordan Greenway flicked his wrist and then he raised his hands as the goal horn went off, curling into the corner to celebrate with the fans along the glass at KeyBank Center, welcoming his teammates in for a group hug.

A simple celebration for a player known for the simplicity of his game.

But, make no mistake, there was nothing simple about this goal for the veteran forward and not just because it ended up being the game-winning goal in a 4-2 win by the home team against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round on Wednesday.  

“It’s always great to score,” Greenway said afterward of his highlight-reel tally at 3:32 of the second period. “Second round of the playoffs and I don’t know what the score was at that point.”

His goal, a screened rocket off the glove of goalie Jakub Dobes, who was a wunderkind for the Canadiens in their first-round win against the Tampa Bay Lightning, made it 3-1 and erased any momentum Montreal had built with Nick Suzuki’s goal with 44 seconds left in the first period. 

Greenway took a long, indirect pass from defenseman Mattias Samuelsson at the attacking blue line, crossed into the offensive zone and drifted behind teammate Tyson Kozak, who was barreling to the net with defenseman Alexandre Carrier in his wake. That’s when he snapped his wrist and set the Sabres bench into an eruption of joy.

“Pretty big goal at that time in the game,” Buffalo forward Ryan McLeod said. “Huge for a guy that kind of puts his body on the line every night, battled through some injuries, some tough ones. 

“For him to get that one, I think everyone on the bench was pretty fired up for that one.”

Game 2 is here Friday (7 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC). 

It wasn’t just the goal Greenway scored. It was the skill the 29-year-old flashed, an artifact of an earlier time in his career. A first-line snipe from a fourth-line grinder.   

“I think he said he put it through the goalie’s glove,” McLeod said, enjoying a chuckle. “I’m not sure about that, but it was a good one.” 

Said forward Josh Doan: “We will have to let him know that we didn’t know he had that in him later.”

Greenway has earned the affection of teammates. 

“You meet him and you can see why everyone in the room loves him,” Doan said. 

Greenway battled through injuries that limited him to 40 games this season. He plays a physically demanding game when he is in the lineup, making a living along the boards in each zone, an unforgiving area that exacts a fierce price, particularly in the postseason. He kills penalties and blocks shots. He slows the game down when the youthful Sabres need it to be slowed. 

“It’s one of those games you have to respect,” said Doan.

What it is not is a game based on goals. He has played in 29 postseason games with the Minnesota Wild and now the Sabres. This was his fourth goal. It was his third shot of these playoffs, in seven games. It was his first goal since Nov. 13. 

“Bottom line, I try to go out there, bring some energy, create some momentum, create some space and be hard to play against,” he said.

He was all those things Wednesday, helping Buffalo set the tone against a Montreal team that was flying high after a Game 7 win against the Lightning on Sunday.  

“I thought by far his best game,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “Great on the walls, really strong on the puck. His physicality was good. On the goal, great shot through the defenseman. I think the 10-foot range to the walls and the puck battles, I thought he was excellent.”

Greenway refused to factor his battle with injuries into the specialness of the night. 

“It’s been a journey injury-wise but there are a lot of guys that have gone through injuries,” he said. “At this point it is behind me and I’m just focused on going out there and doing what I can to help the team.”

He may not have wanted to make the injuries a focal point, but his teammates watched Greenway struggle. They know the pain and doubt he experienced. It’s why they were so jazzed. 

“To see him get rewarded tonight after a long year for him is really cool,” Doan said. “That is what makes the playoffs so special.”