Winners, losers from Thursday's Stanley Cup playoffs: Mitch Marner on Conn Smythe run

Martin St. Louis' faith in Jakub Dobes

Dobes got off to a rough start on Thursday, allowing three goals on the first four shots he faced. It would have been very easy for St. Louis to pull Dobes in favor of backup Jacob Fowler. Most head coaches might have done that, especially early in a pivotal playoff game, and nobody would have given it a second thought. But St. Louis stuck with his starting goalie, realized there were a couple of bad bounces working against him and showed faith in the goalie that he knows gives him the best chance to win the game and the series.

He and the Canadiens were rewarded for that decision. 

Dobes stopped every shot he faced from that point on and helped put the Canadiens into a position where it can punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final on Saturday night. 

Brett Howden, Vegas Golden Knights

Howden scored his third short-handed goal of the playoffs on Thursday, tying an NHL record for the most short-handed goals in a single postseason.

Keep in mind, we are only in Round 2. He has potentially two more rounds to get another one and may even set a record for himself. 

Thursday's losers

Buffalo's top forwards

Specifically, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch.

Thompson is Buffalo's most impactful forward, and he is simply having a nightmare series against the Canadiens. It is not just a lack of production, either. It is turnovers that have led to goals against. On Thursday it was a penalty that led to a Montreal goal. He just has not been what Buffalo needs.

It has been a similar story for Tuch, who is also not doing what he needs to do for himself going into the free agent market. If he wants to show teams he is a $10 million-$12 million player these are the games where he needs to shine. 

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres

Luukkonen had his moments this season, but things just did not work for him in the playoffs. He was benched after the first period on Thursday, making it the second time in his past three starts that he was lifted in favor of Alex Lyon. It seems likely that Lyon will get the start on Saturday as the Sabres try to force a Game 7 in their second-round series. 

Playoff inexperience

Buffalo and Anaheim are exciting young teams and should have bright futures beyond this season. But their relative inexperience in the playoffs, especially against teams that have been here in recent years, is starting to show. Anaheim has the forward talent to compete, but it still needs major work defensively. Buffalo, meanwhile, just seems to have lost its composure on Thursday against a Montreal team that got its first taste of playoff hockey a year ago.