Buffalo Sabres – Montreal Canadiens Game Preview
5/6/26 – 7:00 pm at KeyBank Center, in Buffalo, NY
Buffalo – 50-23-9 | – 109 points – 1st place in the Atlantic Division
Montreal – 48-24-10 | – 106 points – 3rd place in the Atlantic Division
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Special Teams
Buffalo
Power Play(Reg) – 19.5% (21st)
Power Play(Playoffs) – 1 for 24 – 4.2% (16th)
Penalty Kill(Reg) – 81.9% (4th)
Penalty Kill(Playoffs) – 14 for 16 – 87.5% (6th)
Montreal
Power Play(Reg) – 23.1% (10th)
Power Play(Playoffs) – 7 for 26 – 19.2% (5th)
Penalty Kill(Reg) – 78.2% (18th)
Penalty Kill(Playoffs) – 82.8% – 22 for 29 (11th)
Top Scorers
Buffalo
Tage Thompson: 6 GP, 2 G, 5 A, 7 PTS
Alex Tuch: 6 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 PTS
Peyton Krebs: 6 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PTS
Montreal
Lane Hutson: 7 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 PTS
Nick Suzuki: 7 GP, 1 G, 5 A, 6 PTS
Alexandre Texier: 7 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 PTS
Starting Goalies
Buffalo – Alex Lyon (3-1, 1.14 GAA, .955 Sv %)
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Montreal – Jakub Dobes (4-3, 2.03 GAA, .923 Sv %)
Other Sabres Stories
Six Former Sabres Who Signed Elsewhere
Sabres Line Combinations and Pairings (projected)
Forwards
Peyton Krebs – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
Zach Benson – Josh Norris – Josh Doan
Jason Zucker – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
Jordan Greenway – Tyson Kozak – Beck Malenstyn
Ex., Tanner Pearson,, Josh Dunne, Sam Carrick
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power – Bowen Byram
Logan Stanley – Conor Timmins
Ex. Luke Schenn, Michael Kesselring, Zach Metsa
Goaltenders
Alex Lyon
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Colten Ellis
Injuries
Justin Danforth (lower body, Oct. 18; injured reserve)
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Jiri Kulich (blood clot, Nov. 4; injured reserve – out for the season)
Noah Ostlund (lower body, Apr 28; week-to-week)
Notes
The Sabres have earned three playoff series victories over the Canadiens in franchise history. Buffalo last faced Montreal in the playoffs in the 1998 Eastern Conference Semifinals, a series which the Sabres won four games to none.The Sabres’ four goals allowed over the last three games are the fewest the team has allowed in any three-game span in the playoffs since May 9 to 14, 1999 (3).
A win tonight would give Buffalo five consecutive playoff wins over Montreal, second only to the team’s six-game playoff winning streak over the Canadiens from May 6, 1975 to April 5, 1990. It would make the Sabres the only team in NHL history to record multiple playoff winning streaks of five or more games against the Canadiens.
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Alex Lyon allowed just five total goals in five appearances in the first round against Boston, the fewest goals allowed in any five-game span in the playoffs by a Sabres goaltender all-time. Lyon has posted a .955 save percentage in his first five appearances in the playoffs, tied with Dominik Hasek (April 24 to May 8, 1998; .955) for the best mark by a Sabres goaltender in any five-game span in the playoffs.
Bowen Byram has recorded five points (3+2) in six playoff games thus far. His three goals are the most by a Sabres defenseman in a five-game span in the playoffs since Alexei Zhitnik from April 27 to May 14, 1999 (three goals).
In his last three games, Zach Benson has posted three points (2+1). A goal in tonight’s game would make Benson the first Sabres skater age 20 or younger to record three or more goals in the first seven games of their playoff career since Alan Haworth from April 8 to 22, 1981 (4+4).
Peyton Krebs has registered six points (2+4) in six playoff games thus far and he and Tage Thompson (2+5) are the first Sabres forwards to tally six or more points in the first six playoff games of their career since Tim Connolly (3+5) and Jason Pominville (4+2) from April 22 to May 2, 2006.
Alex Tuch has posted seven points (4+3) in the playoffs. He leads all Sabres skaters in goals and is tied with Thompson for the team lead in points.
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