The Buffalo Sabres lost to the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 at KeyBank Center on May 15 in Game 5 of their second-round playoff series.
With this result, the Canadiens now lead the series three games to two. The teams will meet again in Montreal for Game 6 on Saturday, where the Sabres will face elimination for the first time during these playoffs.
Buffalo took early leads of 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 within the first half hour of play. However, Montreal responded each time with a tying goal and then pulled ahead with three consecutive goals from Josh Anderson, Jake Evans, and Nick Suzuki over a ten-minute span in the second period.
Jason Zucker, Josh Doan, and Konsta Helenius scored for Buffalo. Doan’s goal extended his point streak to six games. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started as goaltender for Buffalo for a second straight game and stopped 18 out of 23 shots before being replaced by Alex Lyon in the third period; Lyon made one save on three shots faced. Jakub Dobes made a total of 32 saves for Montreal including stopping Tage Thompson on a breakaway when Buffalo was leading early in the second period.
Suzuki (one goal and two assists) and Juraj Slafkovsky (three assists) led Montreal offensively with three points each. The Canadiens’ power play converted both opportunities after scoring just once on seven chances in Game Four.
Game Six is scheduled to take place Saturday at 8 p.m., broadcast nationally on ABC. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will provide radio coverage on WGR 550.
