Home HOCKEY NHL Canadiens' Power Play Explodes in Game 3 Rout of Buffalo

Canadiens' Power Play Explodes in Game 3 Rout of Buffalo

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Dobes stays hot as Canadiens dominate Sabres in game 3  

Rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes backstops Montreal to a second straight win, while Newhook and Slafkovsky lead a balanced offensive attack.


Canadiens crush Sabres 6-2 in game 3 to take 2-1 series lead...


The Montreal Canadiens took control of their playoff series with a 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 3 on Sunday night, securing a second straight victory and a 2-1 series lead.


This marks Montreal’s third time coming from behind to win in the postseason, the first time they’ve hit that mark in a single playoff run since 2015.


Rookie netminder Jakub Dobes continued his strong form, stopping 26 shots in Game 3. Over the last two games he’s made 54 saves, and he’s given up more than two goals just once across Montreal’s last six playoff contests.


Game 4 is set for Tuesday, May 12, when Buffalo will look to even the series at 2-2.


Historically, Montreal holds an 11-6 record when leading 2-1 after opening a series on the road, while Buffalo is 0-3 when starting at home down 2-1 in a playoff series.


Sabres Strike Early but Fade in Game 3

Buffalo opened the scoring less than a minute in, with Tage Thompson netting his third goal of the playoffs at 53 seconds to make it 1-0. Rasmus Dahlin recorded the primary assist, his fourth of the postseason, before later adding Buffalo’s second goal himself.  


That early tally was the second-quickest goal of the playoffs so far, just behind Kasperi Kapanen’s 38-second opener for Edmonton in Game 4 against Anaheim in round one.






After that, Montreal rattled off four unanswered goals, including two on the man advantage.  


Alex Newhook got things started with his fourth of the playoffs, tying the game 1-1 with just under five minutes left in the first period.  


Both sides failed to capitalize during a brief 4-on-4 stretch in the opening frame, and neither converted on any of their earlier power-play chances.  


The second period was when Buffalo unraveled, and Montreal seized full control of the game.






Cole Caufield cashed in on Montreal’s first power play of the period, scoring his second of the postseason to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead. Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov picked up the assists, extending their playoff totals to six and three respectively.  


With that point, Hutson became only the second Montreal defenseman in the last 30 years to reach at least eight points in his first 10 playoff games, joining P.K. Subban from 2014.






That goal lit a spark, and Montreal ran with it, dictating play for the remainder of the second period.  


Zachary Bolduc added his second of the playoffs to make it 3-1, with Joe Veleno and Alexandre Carrier earning the assists.  


Buffalo then handed Montreal another prime chance, and the Canadiens didn’t waste it.




Buffalo’s Beck Malenstyn and Jordan Greenway each took matching minors, and Montreal’s Zachary Bolduc also went to the box, giving the Canadiens another power play.  


Just 45 seconds into that advantage, Juraj Slafkovsky netted his fourth of the postseason to make it 4-1. Lane Hutson and Cole Caufield picked up the helpers, bringing their totals to seven and four.  


With that goal, Slafkovsky joined Dickie Moore in 1958 as the only Canadiens to score each of their first four playoff goals on the power play in a single postseason.  


Hutson’s second assist of the night also tied Mathieu Schneider for the most multi-point playoff games in franchise history by a player under 23.




After keeping opponents to two goals or fewer in his first five playoff starts, including Game 1 against Montreal, Buffalo goalie Alex Lyon has now surrendered four or more in two straight games.  


The Sabres pulled one back on the power play just two minutes later to trim the deficit to 4-2.  


Rasmus Dahlin scored his second of the postseason, with Tage Thompson and Josh Doan picking up the assists.  


It was Buffalo’s first road power-play goal in 30 attempts, but they needed far more offense. Montreal outshot them 29-18 through two periods and carried that momentum into the third.




Nearly nine minutes into the third, Montreal kept pressing in front of the home crowd.  


Kirby Dach, who took the penalty that led to Dahlin’s second-period goal, made up for it by scoring his fourth of the playoffs to extend the lead to 5-2.  


Alexandre Texier and Phillip Danault each picked up their third assist on the night.




Alex Newhook stayed hot, building on a regular season where he managed just 13 goals.  


He made it five for the playoffs with his second of the night, an empty-net breakaway that would have been a penalty shot if Buffalo hadn’t already pulled Lyon.  


Late in the game, a full-scale scrum broke out involving everyone on the ice except the goalies, and both sides were handed game misconducts.  




Montreal closed it out 6-2, finishing ahead in nearly every category: shots 36-28, faceoffs 62.3%-37.7%, power play 2-for-6 to Buffalo’s 1-for-4, and hits 24-19.


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