The Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres were battling it out on Thursday night in the fifth game of their series, with both teams having won two games. The Habs had slow starts in the two previous games, and coach Martin St-Louis had been asked about them during his morning media availability. He explained what having a good start entailed:
It’s not just one thing. It’s to play with the right intentions, in the right place, early on. It might mean you have to defend, it might mean you have to forecheck, it might mean you go on the power play. It’s about having the right intentions and being dialed in early on.
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One had to wonder if he had mentioned that to his player as they had yet another sloppy start, and this time, so did goaltender Jakub Dobes. As a result, he gave up three goals on the first four shots he faced. Thankfully, the Canadiens didn’t let the Sabres distance themselves, coming back from behind twice, but by the end of the first frame, it was 3-2 Buffalo.
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Montreal didn’t look much better to start the second frame. The top line got caught in the defensive zone for extended shifts twice, and as they were changing, Tage Thompson got a breakaway. Dobes stood his ground, followed him and made a spectacular pad save to keep Montreal within one.
That save seemed to steady the Canadiens, who finally shook off their rough start and proceeded to score four unanswered goals. Josh Anderson scored the big equalizer, and Ivan Demidov almost scored the go-ahead goal. He got the puck through Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Jake Evans, who’s not known for his finish, had to give it a light tap to push it in.
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St-Louis can pat himself on the back for not pulling Dobes after he let in three goals on four shots, not that he was to blame for all of them, but he could have wanted to wake his team up with a goalie change. Instead, he stuck with his goalie and let him wake up the players with a big save. In the end, Dobes stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced on the night for a .917 save percentage. In the post-game media availability, the coach explained that he consulted his goalie coach to decide whether to pull Dobes, and Marco Marciano told him to leave him in, a good call.
On top of being the victim of the momentum shift save, Thompson took a very bad penalty when he cross-checked Jake Evans high up while the Canadiens’ center was nowhere near the puck. Even if the refs had been pretty quiet to that point, they couldn’t let that one go, and the big forward was sent to the penalty box for two minutes.
He ended up getting out of there in just 10 seconds, after Nick Suzuki scored a quick power play goal to give the Habs a 5-3 lead. This is the second game in a row that Thompson takes an awful penalty, but this time around, the Canadiens made him pay.
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Thompson wasn’t the only one with a questionable decision on the night; Rasmus Dahlin cross-checked Demidov as he was going to beat him to the net and got himself a trip to the box. On the penalty he drew himself, the Russian rookie finally scored his first playoff goal to make the score 6-3.
St-Louis has often spoken about his team shooting itself in the foot this season, and how good teams made them pay when they did. Tonight, the Canadiens were the good team, and they made the Sabres pay when they stabbed themselves in the foot.
For the first time this postseason, Caufield and Slafkovsky registered points at even strength while Suzuki registered three points, and the Canadiens’ best players were their best players. There’s a lot to be said for and to like about depth scoring, but the chances of making a deep run in the playoffs are far greater when your top guns are firing on all cylinders. After a tough Game 4, Slafkovsky ended his night with three points.
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Granted, this is only one game, but it may just be the start of something not only for the first line but for Demidov as well, who looked hell-bent on finally finding the back of the net. Lane Hutson also had two assists on the night, which gives him 12 points in 12 games in the postseason. He leads the team in points, but he has some way to go for the league leader, as Mitch Marner had 18 points at the time of writing.
The Canadiens will now have a chance to put an end to the series on Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Puck drop is set for 8:00 PM for what will be the first Saturday night playoff hockey game in a packed Bell Centre in 11 years.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
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