Five things to know as Canadiens face Sabres in series of youth and skill

The Canadiens are coming off a razor-thin series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, with all seven games decided by one goal and four of them in overtime. Those slim margins aren’t likely to change against the Sabres.

Montreal and Buffalo finished just three points apart in the regular season, with the Sabres topping the Atlantic Division with 109. The teams also split their season series 2-2, each scoring 13 goals across four games.

Buffalo turned its season around after firing general manager Kevyn Adams on Dec. 15, posting the NHL’s best record by a seven-point margin from that point forward to end a 14-year playoff drought. A young core led by captain Rasmus Dahlin and forward Tage Thompson also helped lead the Sabres past the Boston Bruins in six games for the franchise’s first series win since 2007.

For the Canadiens, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson hit historic milestones in Montreal’s best regular season in more than a decade before the team outlasted the experienced Lightning.

GRIPPING STICKS

The Canadiens’ dynamic top line of Suzuki, Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky collected just one fluky even-strength goal against the Lightning after combining for 72 in the regular season. Rookie winger Ivan Demidov, the next-highest scoring forward on the team, was also limited to a single power-play assist in the tight-checking series.

A newly formed bottom-six trio of Kirby Dach, Alexandre Texier and Zachary Bolduc picked up the slack with five even-strength goals against the Lightning, but Montreal will need more from its top guns to advance past the Sabres.

Buffalo’s first line of Thompson, Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs, meanwhile, drove the offence with eight even-strength goals in six games against the Bruins. The Sabres’ issues came on the power play, where they went a dismal 1-for-24 in the first round.

SIZING ‘EM UP

The expectation is the Canadiens may find more space to operate against the Sabres than they did against the Lightning — but perhaps not. Montreal’s offence, featuring multiple undersized players, is up against a towering Buffalo blue line.

Bowen Byram, at six-foot-one, is the smallest defenceman in a top four that also includes Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson. Meanwhile, six-foot-seven Logan Stanley and six-foot-three Conor Timmins make up the third pairing.

GOALIE BATTLE

This isn’t a matchup between two Vézina Trophy winners, but Jakub Dobes and Alex Lyon are both red-hot heading into the series.

Dobes outduelled Andrei Vasilevskiy in the opening round, posting a .923 save percentage and 2.03 goals-against average. The 24-year-old rookie, who began the season as a backup, stopped 60 of 62 shots in Games 6 and 7, further cementing his place as the Canadiens’ No. 1 after steadying his play following the Olympic break.

Lyon, 33, is an undrafted journeyman who is pulling out the stops for Buffalo. He replaced Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen late in Game 2 against the Bruins and posted a stellar .955 save percentage and 1.14 goals-against average the rest of the way, taking over the crease after splitting duties with Luukkonen this season.

CANADA’S TEAM?

The Canadiens are the last Canadian team still standing, though the Sabres also hold strong ties north of the border. Located just across Lake Erie, Buffalo naturally draws a sizable fan base from Hamilton and the Niagara region.

The Sabres are also the only American NHL team to play the Canadian anthem before every game, even when facing a U.S. opponent. Fans went viral for singing “O Canada” when Cami Clune’s microphone malfunctioned before Game 5 against the Bruins.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Five things to know as Canadiens face Sabres in series of youth and skill

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