The Buffalo Sabres create more of their offence on the rush than most teams. The Montreal Canadiens seemed to figure that out in Game 2. Buffalo wasn’t able to transition quickly, and they found themselves defending more than they’re used to, and they didn’t defend well.
Back at the Bell Centre, the Canadiens tried to keep that headline on the front page, and they did. The Canadiens had more offensive chances in one game than they did in the final three games against the Lightning in posting a 6-2 win to take the series lead.
Wilde Horses
Alex Lyon, who earned a .934 save percentage in his first seven games, showed up for this one early. The Canadiens created so many high-quality chances, but they could not beat him in a wild opening frame. Nick Suzuki was alone. Cole Caufield was alone. Alex Newhook was alone. Phillip Danault was alone. Suzuki was alone again. Joe Veleno was alone. Six chances with only the Canadiens forward against Lyon from 15 feet or less and no one could convert.
Finally, at 15:31, in a period where the Canadiens could have scored four, they finally got one. There was so much open ice for the Canadiens. The Sabres had no idea how to defend anything on the weak side. The back-door play was a garage door — an airport hangar.
Jake Evans, with the seventh top-notch chance in the first period, then it was a rebound that finally made the difference. On the first seven quality chances, there was no rebound save to make, but on this one, Newhook pounced for his fourth goal of the playoffs.
With eight high-quality chances in the first period, the floodgates simply had to open eventually. They did in the second period. The Canadiens’ power play was flying. Nearly two minutes of zone time were completed with a gorgeous goal. Lane Hutson danced around two Sabres, then just when you thought he was going to zig, he zagged. The no-look pass to Caufield and the net was empty. Caufield with his second of the playoffs.
The offence continued as the Canadiens poured it on with 29 shots in the first 40 minutes. Joe Veleno won the puck and smartly waited for the trailer Zachary Bolduc to arrive. Watching the progression of Bolduc turn into a player with ideas and concepts this season has been a joy to watch. Bolduc drilled it home for 3-1.
The power play went back to work, and again the architect was Hutson. He is adding another option to his arsenal — his shot. Sometimes he uses it to score, topping out at 92 miles per hour, and sometimes he uses it to find sticks that can deflect it. In this case, he basically shot it right at Juraj Slafkovsky’s stick. Slafkovsky scored his first since opening night and fourth of the playoffs. It was 4-1.
In the third, the Sabres came out with a tremendous push. They had a power play where they had five shots. The Canadiens were on the back foot. Jakub Dobes made all the stops. However, while the Sabres were pushing, they forgot to defend.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
Montreal had a three-on-one and they converted. The defender gave the shot to Danault, but he didn’t want it, so he held on too long before finally finding Alexandre Texier to fire from a bad angle, but the puck stayed between Lyon’s pads. Kirby Dach seized it deftly and fired into an empty net.
Newhook added an empty-netter for his team-leading fifth of the playoffs. The Canadiens put six on the board against a Sabres team not interested enough in defending.
Wilde Goats
Novels could be written about how bad the decision was by the NHL to give second-round duty to referees Garrett Rank and Kyle Rehman. There are seven teams left. There are only three series still going. This is the best that the NHL has to offer in officiating? These two were overmatched for the moment.
Late in the first period, Bolduc finished his play by heading to the crease on a dump-in. Lyon froze the puck and Bolduc actually went around the goalie. He didn’t even touch him. Three Sabres then proceeded to punch Bolduc in the face. Bolduc didn’t even take a shot in revenge. The final assessment was four minutes for Bolduc when there was no action by him to warrant even two.
The assessment from Rank and Rehman was laughable. They were managing the game. What they were attempting to do was keep the crease clean for the goalies. It’s a good idea, but make sure that there is an infraction for it, not just game management.
It’s absolutely exhausting to be writing about the officials these playoffs. Rank has a history of difficulty with the Canadiens. There was a game early in the season in Edmonton when the penalties were so mysterious that head coach Martin St. Louis said he hoped the officials also study video after the game.
The implication, of course, is they need to evaluate their work like the players in order to improve. That was a mistake by St. Louis because it got under the skin of the referees, and that’s never smart, as they hold the power.
In the actual game, it could not have started worse for the Canadiens in the first minute, as they allowed the opening goal because of the chaos of hockey. Rasmus Dahlin’s weak point shot went off Alexandre Carrier to go wide. It was so wide that it came out the other side perfectly to Tage Thompson, standing by himself to open the scoring with a tap-in.
The second Buffalo goal didn’t really have a culprit. It was a power play and Dahlin found open ice and a screened goalie. It could be argued that it was too passive, but that also might be a bit too negative for the moment.
The 4-2 goal, though, did give the Sabres life for the third period. They can produce a lot of offence. They play a style that is quite wide open, sacrificing defence for offence more than most successful teams. That Buffalo offence can make a defence run around, and Montreal did at times, but the Canadiens held firm enough to take advantage of the defensive weakness that follows over-aggression.
Wilde Cards
It was a disappointing finish to the season for the Laval Rocket Saturday afternoon at Place Bell as they fell in the deciding game to the Toronto Marlies 3-2. The Rocket held the lead heading into the final period but allowed two goals, then amassed no offence whatsoever looking for the tying goal.
The hockey in the playoffs, when it mattered, was grind-it-out and ugly. It was very much minor league hockey. When fans watch the Canadiens, they see the high-level creativity and skills of Ivan Demidov and Hutson. In Laval, there wasn’t even a hint of that. It felt like every game was a game without dazzling plays.
It was, in fact, somewhat disturbing.
In the minors, everyone knows that the AHL team isn’t going to graduate a lot of players to the parent club; instead, the goal is for two or three players to stand out. Management is looking for players who are a cut above, and can be difference makers. The Rocket showed none of that.
The best player was Samuel Blais, and that is concerning. Blais is a career minor leaguer. He could play on the fourth line effectively in Montreal even now, but if he is the best, that indicates there might not be any NHL players presently in Laval.
Owen Beck had a difficult season. He has not elevated his game. As a forward, the clock is now ticking. Joshua Roy also has an hourglass running out of sand. The entire forward group is a ticking clock, except perhaps Florian Xhekaj, who could fill a fourth-line role with his physical nature.
On defence, David Reinbacher didn’t play the final game and had limited ice time throughout the series, as, once again, he managed to get injured. The clock on his development still has a lot of time on it because he is a defenceman. Reinbacher has three more seasons to prove he was worth the fifth overall pick. However, the organization must be confused why he can’t put a dozen games together without an injury.
It was an extremely disappointing year for the Rocket, and it’s not because they were eliminated early, but because no one looked ready for the NHL. Previous AHL versions of the Canadiens farm team had obvious graduates like Jake Evans and Tomas Plekanec. They dominated in the AHL. Evans and Plekanec are what it is supposed to look like as an indicator — they’re in the wrong league. They dominate. They make plays.
No one in Laval is in the wrong league. That’s discouraging. No one stepped up.
The positive is that the Canadiens’ top-four prospects are either in Russia, college, on the injured list or the WHL: Alexander Zharovsky, Michael Hage, Reinbacher and Bryce Pickford are all ranked top-50 prospects.
If they all find themselves in the AHL one day at the same time, the Rocket certainly aren’t losing to the Marlies at home without a fuse to light in a dull exit from the playoffs.
Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you on after each Canadiens game.
