3 Things to Watch: Canadiens at Sabres, Game 2 of Eastern 2nd Round

(3A) Montreal Canadiens at (1A) Buffalo Sabres

Eastern Conference Second Round, Game 2

Buffalo leads best-of-7 series 1-0

7 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT, SN, TVAS, CBC

BUFFALO -- There’s no panic in the Montreal Canadiens dressing room. 

The Canadiens lost three games in their Eastern Conference First-Round victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning, which ended with a Game 7 win on the road. 

So a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round isn’t going to faze them; it's a race to four wins, and how you get there isn't that important.

“Last series we won Game 1, now we're down one and we're just focused on the next game,” Montreal defenseman Noah Dobson said. “Playoff series all it's about -- whether it's a big win or a loss -- you regroup and you're ready. Get a big win tomorrow then go back home 1-1 and that's all that matters.”

The road to four for the Canadiens would be a bit smoother with a win in Game 2 at KeyBank Center on Friday; teams that trail 2-0 in a best-of-7 series own an all-time series record of 58-363 (.138), including a 22-91 (.195) success rate when starting on the road. 

In the first round Montreal alternated wins with Tampa Bay throughout the series, each game decided by a goal, and it won three times on the road. 

“I think we've done a good job of bouncing back here throughout the year,” said forward Alex Newhook, who scored the series-winning goal against the Lightning in a 2-1 victory in Game 7. “That's something probably we've grown to become, is being able to bounce back from games like this and being able turn the page quickly. 

“You have to have a short memory in the playoffs. So it's on to the next one for us and we know it's a big one.”

Here are three things to watch in Game 2:

1. Let it flow

Game 1 was played in a style neither team was used to, but can be comfortable playing; it was the wide-open, attacking style each prefers, but were not able to lean into much during the first round because of the defending tendencies of the opposition. 

“We knew what they (the Sabres) were capable of going into the series, but I think it's a bit of a different game compared to Tampa (Bay),” Newhook said. “Sometimes you get a feel for the series in the first game, and we know what we need to do better. 

Buffalo wants to play off the rush and send players in waves, allowing its defensemen to join the attack freely. 

Montreal plays a similar style, which made for some loosey-goosey defending. 

The key, Sabres forward Alex Tuch said, is to balance offensive aggression with defensive responsibility.

“You have to stay on your toes and defend well,” Tuch said. “They have a lot of weapons in that room. A lot of good goal scorers and playmakers. You have to make sure you are playing hard against them and defending well.”

2. Paging big scorers

Among the six goals scored in the series opener, only one -- a power-play tally from captain Nick Suzuki in the first period -- came from a first-line forward from either team.

For Montreal, Suzuki had the goal and seven shot opportunities, three on goal, and was a minus-1. Cole Caufield had no points and two shots on goal; he has one goal in eight games this postseason and a minus-5 rating after scoring 51 goals during the regular season. Juraj Slafkovsky had an assist and was minus-1 with four shots on net in seven opportunities. 

"We had a lot more (space) last (game),” Caufield said. “Felt like we generated a lot more in the O-zone, some longer shifts there, and definitely something that we could build off going forward."

It wasn’t much better for Buffalo’s top three. 

Tage Thompson was minus-1 and did not have a shot on goal, Tuch was minus-1 with one shot on goal and six shot opportunities and Peyton Krebs was minus-1 with no shots on goal. 

When the lines were matched during the game, they played to a standstill. That’s not enough, Tuch said. 

“I think our line was just OK,” he said. "I think defensively we were pretty good, we only gave up one or two chances. Offensively we could have created a little bit more. I thought we were good in our D-zone, keeping them to the outside. I also didn’t think we gave up too many rush opportunities. 

“We are just going to be hard to play against and try to generate some more offense.”

3. No more feeling out

Game 1 was disjointed at times. It was obvious that, during stretches, the Canadiens behaved as if they were still playing against the Lightning, reacting to what their tendencies had been in each zone. 

Now, each team has the measure of the other. Series on. 

“I think both teams now will have a familiar sense of what it's going to be like and the game that's going present itself,” Dobson said. “And then from there it just goes into executing your game plan better, finding ways to do things against a certain team compared to the other, and do those things well. 

“As we go along, that's going to be game to game. But it's tight. It's two good teams. I expect it to be a tight series like the last one. And it's on us just to execute and focus on (Game 2) and go from there.”

Canadiens projected lineup

Cole Caufield -- Nick Suzuki -- Juraj Slafkovsky

Alex Newhook -- Jake Evans -- Ivan Demidov

Alexandre Texier -- Phillip Danault -- Josh Anderson

Zachary Bolduc -- Kirby Dach -- Joe Veleno

Mike Matheson -- Alexandre Carrier

Kaiden Guhle -- Lane Hutson

Arber Xhekaj -- Noah Dobson

Jakub Dobes

Jacob Fowler

Scratched: Brendan Gallagher, Jayden Struble, Oliver Kapanen, Samuel Montembeault

Injured: Patrik Laine (lower body)

Sabres projected lineup

Peyton Krebs -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker -- Ryan McLeod -- Jack Quinn

Zach Benson -- Josh Norris -- Josh Doan

Jordan Greenway -- Tyson Kozak -- Beck Malenstyn

Rasmus Dahlin -- Mattias Samuelsson

Bowen Byram -- Owen Power

Logan Stanley -- Conor Timmins

Alex Lyon

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Scratched: Josh Dunne, Colten Ellis, Michael Kesselring, Tanner Pearson, Luke Schenn

Injured: Noah Ostlund (lower body), Sam Carrick (upper body), Jiri Kulich (blood clot), Justin Danforth (lower body)

Status report

The Canadiens did not hold a morning skate. … The Sabres are not expected to make any changes from the lineup they used in a 4-2 win in Game 1. … Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said Carrick is “right on the cusp” of a return; the forward has not played this posteason and has been out since March 31. “With the type of injury he's dealt with, if I can give him a couple of extra days, I think we'll get rewarded for it,” Ruff said Friday.

NHL.com independent correspondent Heather Engel contributed to this report