But after staying in a Buffalo hotel Sunday, trying their best to treat Game 7 like a road game despite playing at KeyBank Center in front of their fans, the Sabres are feeling ready.
“I think we feel good,” Buffalo defenseman Bowen Byram said. “I think we’re all excited. Obviously we know what’s at stake here, but I think we also feel a little more loose (than Game 6). A little less pressure coming home (and) playing in our own building.
“Excited to have our fans behind us. Just a lot of excitement.”
The good news for the Canadiens is their ability to bounce back. They did it in Game 7 against the Lightning after losing Game 6 of that series at home in overtime, and they haven’t lost consecutive games in more than a month, since March 14 and 15.
“I think it's a standard expectation thing,” Montreal forward Alex Newhook said. “All year we've been good after a loss, so another reason for us to be confident tonight. I think you look at what went wrong last game, taking emotion out of it. I think we know we’ve got to be better, so we'll improve on what we need to be better at, and give ourselves the best chance to win.”
Here are three things to watch in Game 7:
1. Goaltending goals
It has been a constant topic of conversation for the Sabres, even if each team has had goaltending questions the past two games. In Game 5, Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes allowed three goals on the first four shots; coach Martin St. Louis kept him in and Montreal won the game. In Game 6, Sabres goalile Alex Lyon allowed three goals on the first four shots; Ruff pulled him and Buffalo won the game.
Each coach, in fact, ended up pulling his starter (Dobes and Lyon) by the end of Game 6.
Although Ruff did not reveal his starting goaltender for Game 7, signs point to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who saved all 18 shots he saw after relieving Lyon on Saturday.
“Goaltending has got us to 3-3,” Ruff said. “Our goaltenders have got us to this point. Our goaltenders got us to first in our division.”
As for Dobes, it’s clear the Canadiens have all the faith in the world in the goalie, who turns 25 on May 27.
“He's been great for us all year,” Newhook said. “He's a confident guy. We didn't do a lot to help him out last game, and we're very confident he's going to be at his best tonight.”
2. Canadiens penalty kill must improve
If Montreal wants to have any kind of success in Game 7, its penalty kill must be better by leaps and bounds. The Sabres power play shredded Montreal in Game 6, using quick puck movement to go 4-for-6 in an 8-3 victory at Bell Centre on Saturday.
Leading the way was captain Rasmus Dahlin, the quarterback of the power play whose three assists with the man-advantage was part of his five-point game (one goal, four assists). Jack Quinn also had three power-play points (two goals, one assist).
The Canadiens held a meeting Monday morning to go over ways to muzzle Buffalo’s power play. Or at least slow it down.
“I’m not going to tell you what we discussed, but there are some things we are going to try out,” Montreal defenseman Kaiden Guhle said.
“They had a good game last game but we’ll adjust,” Newhook added. “We’ve been a strong PK all year and in the playoffs, so we just have to get back to our DNA. It’s in us. And it’s on us to be better.”
