With backs against the wall, Sabres rise to the occasion and force Game 7

MONTREAL – Just when you begin to count them out, these Buffalo Sabres remind you exactly who they are.

This is the team that charged from last place in December to a division title. A team that has thrived in the face of every playoff “first” that’s been thrown its way.

Add another to the list. Staring down elimination for the first time in these playoffs, the Sabres rallied from an early two-goal deficit and beat the Montreal Canadiens 8-3 at Bell Centre on Saturday.

The win sets up a deciding Game 7 at KeyBank Center on Monday.

“Yeah, I don’t really think the experience thing is real,” Tage Thompson said. “We’ve been in a situation all season where people have doubted us, had us out, had our backs against the wall the whole season. It’s no different.

“Obviously the stage is a little bigger and the stakes are higher here but at the end of the day, it’s still the same game. So, nothing really changes for us. We’re a good team, we know that. I think that belief in this room is really the only thing that matters.”

A day that began under pressure-filled circumstances – win or go home – only intensified with the start of the game. Rasmus Dahlin scored on the opening shift, but the Canadiens responded with goals on their first three shots, the last of which was scored shorthanded and prompted the Sabres to pull starter Alex Lyon for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Barely 10 minutes into the game, the Sabres were trailing 3-1 in one of hockey’s most raucous environments. Their backs were against the wall once again.

“We actually liked our game to start so it was kind of a ‘Let’s just stick with it,'" Jason Zucker said. "Keep playing downhill, playing after them and staying on our toes and I thought we did a good job of that.”

Jason Zucker’s power-play goal late in the first period began a run of seven consecutive goals by the Sabres, crafting a score sheet littered with Game 6 heroes.

There was the captain Dahlin, whose 5 points matched the Sabres’ single-game playoff record held by John Tucker and Derek Roy. It was only the 10th five-point playoff game by a defenseman in NHL history.

There were two power-play goals from Jack Quinn, who’d seen prime chances deflect off the post throughout these playoffs. It was fitting that his first goal went off the post and in, which broke a 3-3 tie midway through the second period and stood as the game winner.

Zach Benson produced yet another big moment, wrapping behind the Montreal net for the tying goal in the second period. Thompson had an empty-net goal and three assists. Zach Metsa made his playoff debut and scored a late power-play goal.

Then there was Luukkonen, coming off a disappointing outing in Game 5 at home on Thursday. He stopped all 18 of the shots he faced in 49:41 of action.

“Very proud of our guys,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We talked this morning about how everybody needs to play their best game. The regular season doesn’t mean anything. The Boston series doesn’t mean anything. And the five games to this point really don’t mean anything. Our defining moment is this game tonight and we have to play our best game.”

Ruff made it a point to keep the Sabres away from the rink these past two days to keep their focus squarely on the task of Game 6. They met at the hotel Saturday morning and repeated the mantra “JFG” as they broke down clips from previous games – Just f’n go. 

The point being: Take hesitation out of the equation. Ruff wanted to see his team skate – pressure defensively and skate away from pressure on offense.

They took the message to heart. Even when they trailing 3-1, they were leading heavily in shots and possession. Eventually, their skating took over.

“I thought our skating in the offensive zone, we separated all the time,” Ruff said. “It made it really tough on the coverage. They couldn’t quite catch up to the low rotation, some of the high rotation, and all of a sudden we had guys open.”

The mission now will be to replicate that identity in Game 7. Ruff said postgame that the team had already begun to explore ideas to change the Sabres’ gameday routines at home to feel more road-like – the road teams have four of six games in this series and the Sabres are 5-1 on the road in these playoffs.

And, once again, the team is likely to stay away from the rink until it’s time to play on Monday. One game, winner advances. Their backs are still against the wall, and they’ll be ready.

“We’ve had pressure all year,” Thompson said. “So, I think it’s a good thing. Test your character, see what you’re made of and that’s when you lean on the guys next to you.”

Here’s more from the season-saving win.

Dahlin’s 5-point night

Dahlin was among the litany of Sabres playing their first elimination game. He rose to the occasion, joining a short list of defensemen with five-point playoff games on their resumes that includes Paul Coffey (twice), Denis Potvin, Al MacInnis and Cale Makar.

The captain helped set the tone with his first shift, when he rotated down low in the offensive zone, deked past Juraj Slafkovsky and sent a backhand shot past goaltender Jakub Dobes to put the Sabres on the board 32 seconds into the contest.

In the second period, Dahlin absorbed a hit behind the Buffalo net to send a stretch pass up the boards and free Zucker on a 2-on-1 rush with Konsta Helenius, who buried the Sabres’ fifth goal.

Dahlin added three other assists on power-play goals – and, as always, set a tone with his leadership.

“I don’t think he gets enough credit for how great of a leader he is,” Zucker said of Dahlin. “It was great to see that tonight, but overall, his emotion from this morning to tonight I thought he really led the way. It was a lot of fun to watch.”

Luukkonen bounces back

Luukkonen was pulled following the second period in Game 5, after he’d allowed five goals on 23 shots. It was a disappointing follow-up to his strong performance in Montreal one game prior, when he’d been the backbone of a gutsy Sabres win.

Alex Lyon got the nod for Game 6, but Luukkonen stayed ready. As always, he worked with assistant coach Mike Bales to identify fixes from the previous game but otherwise flushed the performance.

“Balesy has been unbelievable with that this year,” Luukkonen said. “If there’s something that needs to be changed, he will point it out to me and just kind of help me to get comfortable with my game again, and I think today was a good example of that.”

Luukkonen found himself in the game early after the Canadiens scored on their first three shots against Lyon. Luukkonen only saw one shot, a pad save, during the first period but made crucial stops during the second, including a Josh Anderson breakaway.

“In a game like this, it just felt Al wasn’t seeing it, just turn to UPL and see if he can help us out, and he did,” Ruff said. “From that point, he probably made, I thought, four or five really good saves that kept them off the board.”

The Sabres were also able to pick up Lyon, who’s been the driving force of so many victories this season.

“Al has bailed us out a million times,” Thompson said. “So, both goalies, any time they’re in the net, we have confidence.”

Quick hits

• Owen Power was questionable for the game after a crash into the end boards forced him to briefly exit during the third period of Game 5. Not only did Power suit up, he turned in a typically strong outing with 22:22 of ice time (second on the team). The Sabres had a 13-4 edge in scoring chances with Power on the ice at 5-on-5, according to Natural Stat Trick.
• Ruff shook up his forward lines for the first time in these playoffs, including Josh Norris centering the top line between Benson and Thompson. Alex Tuch moved alongside Ryan McLeod and Josh Doan. The moves worked: Both lines owned positive shares of scoring chances and shot attempts.
• The Sabres went 4-for-6 on the power play. They’d only scored four power-play goals in a game once all season: the March 8 classic against Tampa Bay.
• Buffalo chased Montreal goalie Jakub Dobes for the first time in this series with Quinn’s second power-play goal, a snipe midway through the third period. Jacob Fowler played 8:23 in relief and stopped one of two shots faced.

Postgame sound

Up next

Game 7 is Monday at 7:30 p.m. at KeyBank Center 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.