Habs Get Dominant Win Over Sabres In Game 2

While it was a night where the offence did most of the talking for the Habs, they still got great goaltending from Jakub Dobes, who made big saves when they needed it most. Dobes finished the night, stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced. A lot of credit must also go to his defence, who helped him ensure that he could see the puck clearly by not allowing many screens in front of the net. With that being said, it was a much easier night for Dobes in the nets, and he delivered with yet another solid performance.

On Friday night, the whole team was locked in to get the series split and it worked incredibly, as the Sabres were never really in the game. The Canadiens scored just 1:36 into the first period for their fastest goal of the playoffs to open the scoring thanks to Newhook redirecting a Kaiden Guhle shot past Alex Lyon. Newhook and Jake Evans forced a turnover that led to the goal by forechecking hard in the Sabres’ zone.

Faceoffs have continued to be an area in which the Habs have excelled during these playoffs, as they once again won 30 of the 53 draws on the night. Phillip Danault led the way, winning 10 of 15 faceoffs, while Jake Evans went 7-for-11 and Nick Suzuki went 9-for-16 on their draws. With how much the Sabres have struggled in these playoffs in the faceoff circle, this is something that the Canadiens can keep exploiting as the series goes along.

A Danault faceoff win actually led directly to the Habs’ 2nd goal just a few minutes after Newhook opened the scoring. Danault would win the faceoff cleanly onto the stick of Mike Matheson, who took a perfectly placed wrist shot off the crossbar and in through traffic to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead just 4:27 into the game.

After giving up 2 power play goals on 3 penalties in Game 1, the penalty kill was back to being a key strength for the Habs on Friday. They managed to kill all five minor penalties that they took throughout the game without giving the Sabres any momentum. In fact, it was the other way around, as the Habs made it 3-0 as a result of a rush on the penalty kill.

Early in the 2nd period, with a Habs penalty about to expire, Evans and Newhook would go up ice on a 2-on-2 rush. It would result in Newhook, who used his speed to beat his man to the net, getting a pass from Evans, whereby Newhook would be able to beat Lyon for his 2nd goal of the night. While the play started on the penalty kill, Alexandre Carrier was already back on the ice when the goal was scored, so it wouldn’t be a shorthanded goal. Still, that goal argues that the Habs won the special teams battle, given that it was the only goal scored that came from the result of a power play or penalty kill on the night.

Dobes was strong by making big saves to keep the Habs up 3-0 for almost the entire 2nd period. Unfortunately in the final minute of the frame, Sabres pest Zach Benson would be left alone in front of the net, which led to him being able to tap in a shot at the side of the net to give his team some hope heading into the 3rd period.

That Benson goal may have given the Sabres some life for the start of the 3rd period, but the Habs did a good job making sure they wouldn’t get momentum from it. For the third period in a row, the Habs would score a goal within the first minutes of the frame. Tage Thompson would stumble and fall at the Habs blueline, which allowed Carrier to go up ice on a 2-on-1 where he kept it before firing it past Lyon to give the Canadiens a very healthy 4-1 lead.

From there, the Habs would be able to shut down the Sabres’ offence by playing a strong defensive style of play. They were especially strong at blocking shots when needed most on the night, led by Noah Dobson, who blocked 5. The Habs would end up scoring an empty-net goal with the Sabres netminder pulled. Suzuki would score from centre ice for his 3rd goal of the playoffs and officially put the nail in the coffin, even if it was unlikely the Sabres would score 3 goals in the final 4 minutes even before that. With that goal, Suzuki is now on a 3-game goal streak. Will he be able to continue scoring in Game 3?

The Habs were able to play the style that they do best by using their speed to their advantage and beating their opponents with it. It certainly helped that the Sabres gave the Habs a lot more space than the Lightning. This is why guys like Evans and Newhook had such great games: they were able to exploit that extra space with their speed and create offence off the rush. Don’t be surprised if these two players continue to be big pieces in this series for the Habs if there is the space that allows them to exploit the defence.

It was a great team effort on Friday night, which saw the Habs win easily 5-1 thanks to depth all through the lineup stepping up big when needed. The Canadiens will now go into Game 3 on Sunday with home ice advantage after earning the split in Buffalo.

How do you think the Habs will do over the next two games on home ice?