Game 3 takeaways | Mistakes prove costly as Sabres fall behind in series

MONTREAL – Entering Sunday, the Buffalo Sabres knew they needed to clean up their puck play and stop feeding rush opportunities to the highly skilled Montreal Canadiens.

But Game 3 at a raucous Bell Centre looked a lot like Game 2 a couple nights prior, and a 6-2 loss now has the Sabres trailing the second-round series, 2-1.

“There [were] spurts throughout the game where I thought we got to our game and played to our standard, but just not consistent enough,” said Tage Thompson, who opened the scoring early to snap his seven-game goal drought. “We gave them life. A couple plays we didn’t execute on, they capitalize on them, and obviously the building is pretty rocking, so it’s a little deflating.”

The Sabres had preached the importance of a good start and got one. The top line forechecked to keep the opening shift alive, and Thompson took a rebound off the end boards to score just 53 seconds in – his third goal of the playoffs.

From there, however, the Canadiens got to their game, racing up ice at every opportunity and peppering Alex Lyon with dangerous scoring chances. The Buffalo goalie stood on his head for a while, turning aside close-range shots from Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Phillip Danault and Jake Evans, but the Evans save popped out to Alex Newhook for a rebound goal, tying it 1-1 late in the period.

Lyon, starting a seventh straight game, made 13 saves in that first period and finished the night with 31 on 36 shots.

“He was very good all night,” coach Lindy Ruff insisted. “Nothing about Alex Lyon, this game.”

Montreal broke things open in the second period. Offensive-zone penalties set up power-play goals by Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, and a giveaway in the neutral zone at even strength allowed Zachary Bolduc to score on an odd-man rush.

Like in Game 2, Sabres mistakes rarely went unpunished.

“You give them opportunities, they don’t need a whole lot to put it in the back of the net,” Thompson said. “I think we’ve been opening it up a little bit too much, taking a little bit too many risks off the rush. Obviously, we like when our D are joining, getting involved in the play, but we’ve got to be smart when we do that, pick our times, and forwards got to be better at covering when they are in there and tracking back.”

Buffalo regained some momentum when Rasmus Dahlin scored on a power play late in the second. That set up a strong push to start the third, with strong forechecking and extended time in the Montreal zone – including a power play with a full two minutes of pressure. Before they could beat goalie Jakub Dobes again, though, the Canadiens broke free on another odd-man rush, and Kirby Dach restored their three-goal lead.

The Sabres now face their first series deficit of these playoffs and know they have their hands full with the Canadiens. As Thompson pointed out, they’ve thrived in near-must-win hockey for the last five months, so this isn’t exactly uncharted territory – but they “definitely need urgency without panic.”

“I said before this started, they beat a hell of a team (Tampa Bay), they are a hell of a team,” Ruff said. “Don't take them for granted. If we don't realize it now, we're never going to realize it.”

Added Bowen Byram: “We all know in here that, when we’re at the top of our game and playing as good as we can, we’re a good hockey team, too. … No one’s got their head hung walking out of here. They beat us, you take it like a man and move on to the next one.”

Game 4 is Tuesday at 7 p.m. First, here are some more takeaways from Sunday’s loss.

Power-play improvements

Promoting Josh Doan and Zach Benson to the first power-play unit seemed to have its intended effect, as both guys won some battles down low to maintain possession and extend zone time. Benson provided the net-front screen on Dahlin’s goal and also had some prime scoring chances of his own during that third-period man advantage when the score was still 4-2.

“That was probably the least frustrating game, as far as the power play goes,” Thompson said. “Felt like we really got a lot of momentum from our chances there, built some life for our group. I think any time you’re snapping it around like that, getting looks, it gives your team some momentum. … So, step in the right direction.”

Penalty trouble

Game 3 had the most post-whistle nastiness of any in the series so far, including collisions with both goalies and multiple scrums that produced an extra penalty one way or another. Benson, Logan Stanley, Bolducn and Kaiden Guhle each got 10-minute misconducts late in regulation.

The Sabres were shorthanded six times on the night; with the talent Montreal has on its top unit, that’s a losing formula.

“We took five O-zone penalties. Our discipline for that wasn't good enough,” Ruff said. “You let them operate 5-on-4; we ended up with a broken-stick, penalty-killing goal against. You give them that much time, they're going to get opportunities.”

“And I thought tonight we really let our emotions kind of get the better of us,” Thompson added. “… I think we worried about other things that were out of our control – the refs, the calls and what they were doing. Just a little distracted.”

Zucker’s ice time

Jason Zucker played a season-low 6:47 across 11 shifts but wasn’t injured or benched, Ruff confirmed.

“He got caught not being on the No. 1 power play, and then with all the penalty killing, I think he sat there quite a while,” the coach explained. “I tried to get the guys that were up and running, just keep them out there.”

Postgame sound

Up next

Game 4 is Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

As always, Brian Duff and Marty Biron’s pregame and postgame shows will be available on MSG, the Sabres’ social channels and the Buffalo Sabres App.

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