The Buffalo Sabres were looking to build a 2-0 lead in the series against the Montreal Canadiens. Unfortunately, similar to what happened in the Bruins series, after the Sabres won Game 1, they would struggle in Game 2 and would lose 5-1 to the Canadiens.
It was a game where the Sabres came out flat and the Canadiens seized on that opportunity with two goals in the first three minutes of the game with goals by Alex Newhook and Mike Matheson. The Sabres would settle down and keep the game within reach going into the first intermission.
However, the Canadiens added a third goal about five minutes into the second period to push the lead to three. It felt like Montreal was in control up until Zach Benson was able to score the Sabres first and only goal of the game with about 30 seconds left in the second period.
At this point, the Canadiens had only a two-goal lead and the Sabres seemed to have the momentum going into the final period. Once again, the Canadiens got a goal early in the period with Alexandre Carrier scoring on an odd-man rush to push the lead back to three and out of reach.
These are three takeaways from the game on Friday night for the Buffalo Sabres as the series now shifts to Montreal.
Canadiens capitalize on brutal turnovers by the Sabres
One of the big storylines from this game was two really bad turnovers by Peyton Krebs and Tage Thompson that the Canadiens were able to turn into goals.
The first goal was in the first few minutes of the game as Krebs was skating backwards with the puck and seemed to trip over his own skates. The Canadiens would control the puck and move it around the zone until Alex Newhook redirected a shot by Kaiden Guhle past Alex Lyon for the 1-0 lead.
In the third period, the Sabres had some momentum after Zach Benson's goal and were down only 3-1. However, Tage Thompson looked to be trying to do too much as he was skating with the puck and would lose it at the blueline of the offensive zone.
The Canadiens wasted no time bringing it up on a 2-on-1, and Alexandre Carrier would beat Lyon to push the lead back to three. These are some uncharacteristic mistakes but were costly in this game.
Zach Benson just doesn't quit
Late in the second period, the Montreal Canadiens felt to be in complete control of this game with a 3-0 lead. At the end of one of the plays, there was pushing and shoving in front of the net where Zach Benson found himself at the bottom of the pile.
Once that cleared, Benson jumped up, looking for a fight, and kept that attitude on his next shift. That shift helped swing momentum back in Buffalo's favor as it started with the young forward winning the puck on a forecheck.
The Sabres would move the puck around the zone, with Josh Doan taking a shot but not getting through. Eventually, it got to Conor Timmins, who saw Benson set up far post, and Benson was able to finish for the goal on the play that he started.
Win or lose, Benson is going to give the same level of effort and continues to be a driving force for this team.
Buffalo Sabres power play unable to do much of anything in Game 2
The Buffalo Sabres' power play showed some life in Game 1 with two power play goals after only one in the prior 46 opportunities. The goals were great, but both were messy and not necessarily off structured plays.
That point was magnified in Game 2 as the Sabres' power play really did not do much of anything as they went 0-for-5 in this game. It felt like the Sabres spent too much time trying to get the puck into the zone rather than being in the zone during these power play opportunities.
This is nothing new and probably isn't going to get any better at this point in the season. It is certainly frustrating because the Sabres have the talent to be productive on the power play with players like Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin. The hope is that it doesn't cost them too many more games in the playoffs.
The Sabres had no problem bouncing back after a Game 2 loss in the Boston Bruins series and they will need to do the same in this series with it now tied at one game apiece.
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