The Canadiens push the Sabres to the brink

Vincent Larue
The Canadiens push the Sabres to the brink
Credit: DansLesCoulisses.com

The Canadiens were back in Buffalo for Game 5 of their series against the Sabres. The Sabres had managed to tie the series at 2-2 by winning the previous game.

Martin St-Louis made no changes to his lineup for this game. Arber Xhekaj remained in his position, while Jayden Strubble watched the game from the bench.

Here is the Habs' lineup:

Here is the Sabres' lineup:

Right from the start of the game, the Sabres opened the scoring.

Jack Quinn fired a shot that was deflected by Jason Zucker.

Jakub Dobes didn't see a thing.

Moments later, it was the Canadiens' turn to get on the board.

Nick Suzuki played it patiently before finding Cole Caufield in front of the net. Caufield was able to put the puck into an empty net.

Finally, a 5-on-5 goal for Cole! His third goal in as many games.

Unfortunately for the Habs, the Sabres have Dobes' number.

Josh Doan fired off a great one-timer from the circle to Dobes' right.

The Habs' defense looked extremely shaky on that play.

Just nine seconds later, the Canadiens tied the game with a bit of luck.

Alexandre Carrier fired from the blue line and the puck hit Alexandre Texier's skate, who wasn't even looking at the play.

Dobes wasn't in the game in the first period.

The Habs goalie allowed a third goal on just four shots.

Konsta Helenius fired the puck without warning, and it found its way between Dobes' pads.

A bad goal for Jakub!

In the second period, Lane Hutson did what Lane Hutson does best.

The small CH defenseman delivered a clever pass to Josh Anderson, who simply had to shoot into an empty net.

The Sabres' goalie was completely beaten.

The Canadiens' offensive machine has really kicked into gear.

Ivan Demidov thought he'd scored his first playoff goal… but no. He'll have to wait.

Jake Evans pushed the loose puck past the Sabres' goalie, giving the Habs their first lead of the game.

Late in the period, Tage Thompson was called for a double-team.

The Habs' captain took advantage of the opportunity to double his team's lead.

Juraj Slafkovsky found Nick Suzuki in front of the net, and Suzuki didn't miss the opportunity.

The Sabres decided to come back in the third period with Alex Lyon in net.

That allowed Ivan Demidov to score his first playoff goal.

A powerful shot that beat Lyon.

Final score: 6-3 in favor of the Canadiens.

Game 6 of the series will take place Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Bell Centre. The Sabres are on the brink of elimination. The Canadiens will have the chance to end this series and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Carolina Hurricanes.


overtime

– Great game by Demidov.

– Lane Hutson is dominant.

– Yeah.

– Need to rethink that, coach.

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