Winners, losers from Sunday's Stanley Cup playoffs: Canadiens dominate; Ducks get even

The 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs continued on Sunday night with the Montreal Canadiens taking a 2-1 series lead over the Buffalo Sabres and the Anaheim Ducks getting even with the Vegas Golden Knights.

Let's take a little closer look at Sunday's games with some winners and losers from all of the action. 

Sunday's winners

Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens. Caufield had been in a little bit of a funk, entering play on Sunday riding a five-game point drought that saw him record just 10 shots on goal during that stretch. That will happen sometimes in the playoffs, even for top players, but you eventually need those guys to snap out of it and come through.

Caufield did exactly that on Sunday with a goal and an assist in Montreal's 6-2 win over the Sabres. He is a 50-goal scorer, and it is an impressive statement on Montreal's depth that it was able to keep winning without him making a big impact on the scoreboard. If he gets going again, that is going to be a huge development for the Canadiens and a big problem for the Sabres. 

The Montreal crowd. There might not be a better building in the NHL when it comes to playoff atmosphere than the Bell Centre, and on Sunday night, the Montreal fans absolutely brought it as the series shifted to north of the border. It was a sea of red, a constant wall of noise, and the type of atmosphere that should be a bucket-list item for any hockey fan to experience. 

The more Montreal wins, and the deeper it goes in the playoffs, the better it is going to be. Especially if it gets to a point where the Canadiens can end Canada's Stanley Cup drought and bring it back. 

Ian Moore, Anaheim Ducks. There were a lot of stars for the Ducks in their 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, but Moore deserves a spot in the winner column.

After being a healthy scratch over the previous two games, he was back on Sunday and made the most of his opportunity. 

He returned to the lineup and scored his first goal of the playoffs, and it ended up being the game-winning goal.