The second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs picked up for the Buffalo Sabres where the first round left off: with Josh Doan and Zach Benson creating havoc and scoring points.
Doan (1+1) and Benson (0+2) had two first-period points each to build an early lead and the Sabres rode the momentum to a 4-2 win in Game 1 of their series against the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.
Ryan McLeod also had two points (1+1) while Jordan Greenway and Bowen Byram added goals. Byram’s goal was his fourth of the playoffs, matching the franchise record for goals by a defenseman in a single playoff year.
Alex Lyon made 26 saves in his fifth consecutive start.
It was a hustle play from Doan and Benson that gave the Sabres added cushion during the third period of their Game 6 win over the Bruins. The duo started Game 1 against the Canadiens and immediately made an impact, with Benson drawing a tripping penalty just 30 seconds into the contest.
The duo combined for Buffalo’s first goal at the 4:31 mark, which saw Benson set up Doan on an odd-man rush. They combined to set up McLeod’s goal on the power play, which increased the lead to 2-0 nine minutes later.
The Sabres went 2-for-3 on the power play. It was their first game with multiple power-play goals in these playoffs.
Buffalo scored on four of 16 shots against Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes, who started all seven of the Canadiens’ first-round games against Tampa Bay and entered the night with a .914 save percentage.
Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach scored goals for the Canadiens.
