The CH gives its fans something to cheer about with a convincing victory

Michaël Petit
The CH gives its fans something to cheer about with a convincing victory
Credit: DansLesCoulisses.com

The Montreal Canadiens were back in Buffalo to face the Sabres in Game 2 of the second-round series.

They had lost the first game, but by winning this second game in Buffalo, they could tie the series and thus secure home-ice advantage for the remainder of the series (three of the last five games would be played in Montreal).

One might have expected changes to the Habs' lineup after a loss, but generally, after a loss, the Habs tend to bounce back.

For this game, Martin St-Louis kept the exact same lineup. Here are the Habs' forward lines and defensive pairs:

Interestingly, during the playing of the Canadian national anthem, Sabres fans sang along and then applauded. A nice gesture on their part.

The Habs quickly set the tone for the game.

First, Alex Newhook skillfully deflected Kaiden Guhle's shot to give his team the lead with less than two minutes gone in the game. Lane Hutson also had a hand in it.

On the play, Lane Hutson became the second-fastest player in Habs history to record 10 playoff assists.

Mike Matheson had never scored a playoff goal since joining the Habs, and he finally lit the lamp less than three minutes after Newhook's goal.

Phillip Danault picked up an assist on that goal.

The first line saw heavy ice time in the first period and created some great scoring chances at five-on-five.

After 20 minutes of play, the score was 2-0 in favor of the Habs.

The Habs started the second period on the power play but were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.

Habs fans held their breath as Ivan Demidov was hit hard by Jordan Greenway and sent to the locker room.

During the play, Beck Malenstyn cut his hand as Demidov fell.

Fortunately, Demidov returned to the bench a few minutes later, and Malenstyn came back in the third period.

With just under five minutes gone in the second period, Alex Newhook added to the lead with his second goal of the game.

On the play, Noah Dobson took a hard hit to restart the attack. Jake Evans then delivered a beautiful pass to Newhook, who tripled his team's lead.

Newhook was definitely fired up for this game, just as he was for the announcement of the starting lineups before the game began.

If there was one thing to take away from this second period, it was that there was more bickering during stoppages in play.

During this sequence, we see Tage Thompson punch Zachary Bolduc. We recall that Ridly Greig was suspended for a similar gesture (even though his punch was more violent than this one).

Speaking of feuds, Zach Benson is a player who could become the most hated player by the Habs in this series.

Benson isn't afraid of anything, and he certainly isn't afraid to stir up trouble with his comments.

Late in the second period, Benson forced a turnover that led to his goal, cutting the Habs' lead. He took the opportunity to throw a dig at Dobes in the process.

After 40 minutes of play, the score was 3-1 in favor of the Habs.

Once again, it didn't take long before the Habs scored another goal.

This time, it was Alexandre Carrier on a two-on-one who decided to go for the shot. And what can I say about that perfect shot… WOW.

Nick Suzuki finally scored for the third straight game, taking advantage of the Sabres' empty net to make it 5-1 with just under four minutes left to play.

Shortly after that goal, Josh Anderson was assessed a minor penalty, along with a game misconduct. Zach Benson, however, was ejected during that power play for Buffalo.

As the game wound down, frustration was clearly setting in among the Buffalo players. Several fans left, and the Habs fans in attendance chanted “Olé Olé.”

Final score: 5-1 for the Habs.

Game 3 of the series will take place Sunday night at the Bell Centre at 7:00 p.m.

The Habs will have the opportunity to take the lead in this series for the first time.


Overtime

– Cole Caufield showed some great things in this game. One of his best games in this series so far, but he still has a lot of growing to do. He's far from the Caufield we saw in the regular season.

– Alexandre Carrier had one of his best games tonight. He played very well defensively, wasn't intimidated despite his smaller frame, and finished +3 in the game. And once again, what a shot on that goal.

– Arber Xhekaj saw very little ice time in the game and took a penalty. Will we see Jayden Struble in Game 3?

– We saw on a few occasions in this game that some Sabres players were showing frustration. Several sticks were broken as they returned to the bench.

– Once again, Jakub Dobes was excellent, stopping 25 of the 26 shots he faced. He made some big, important saves, and the Sabres buzzed around the Habs' zone on several occasions during the game.

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