The Buffalo Sabres put together an impressive performance in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens and will be looking to replicate that on Friday night. A win in Game 2 would give the Sabres a commanding series lead before they go on the road for the next two games.
It is a crucial game for both teams, and the Sabres should be prepared for a desperate Canadiens team that certainly will make adjustments. When looking ahead to this game, four players in particular are worth watching closely, as they are likely to have a significant impact on the outcome.
Zach Benson
There is no question that Zach Benson has become the talk of the playoffs with his breakout performance dating back to the Boston Bruins series. In Game 1, he helped the Sabres jump out to an early lead with assists on the first two goals.
Benson's line, which also includes Josh Norris and Josh Doan, was excellent in Game 1 in not only scoring but limiting the chances of the Canadiens when on the ice. These three had a Corsi For % of 50% but also were defending more in the defensive zone with only one offensive zone faceoff out of 11, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Prior to Game 1, Benson talked about what he planned to do against Jakub Dobes, and that was simply to be around the crease. It is safe to say that is going to be the plan again going into Game 2.
Rasmus Dahlin
The Sabres captain finished Game 1 with no points, but the Sabres certainly benefited from him being on the ice. The Norris Trophy finalist finished the game with the best Corsi For % in 5v5 situations of any Sabres player at 60.71%. The Sabres would also have the advantage in scoring chances (11 to 6) and high-danger scoring chances (6 to 4) over the Canadiens when he was on the ice, per Natural Stat Trick.
In the series against the Bruins, it took Dahlin a little bit to get going in the box score as he had only four points in six games. However, three of those points were in the final two games of the series.
The underlying metrics show that Dahlin had a positive impact on Game 1, but in Game 2, it wouldn't be surprising to see him add goals and assists to his stat line.
Jack Quinn
Someone who absolutely should have had goals in Game 1 was Jack Quinn, who had excellent opportunities against the Canadiens in that game. Unfortunately, it felt like it was just a night of bad luck for him as he would hit the post on three separate occasions.
The best thing for Quinn entering Game 2 is to just keep shooting because he was getting great looks, and if he can continue to shoot from those spots, it is only a matter of time before those start to go in. When that time comes, it will be a big boost for that line, along with Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker, as it hasn't made the impact in these playoffs that fans might expect.
Tage Thompson
The final player that fans should watch closely is Tage Thompson, who surprisingly hasn't had a stellar playoffs to this point. In Game 1 against the Bruins, he was incredible with two goals in the third period that helped spark that remarkable comeback.
However, since that period, he hasn't been much of a factor with zero goals in the last six games. In Game 1 against the Canadiens in particular, it wasn't just the fact that he had no goals, but he also wasn't shooting much, with no shots on goal and only two total shot attempts.
In addition to the shot attempts, another thing to watch in this game is his play in the faceoff circle, as he had a faceoff win percentage of only 12.5%. It will be interesting to see if Lindy Ruff sticks with Thompson if he continues to struggle at this rate or if he switches that line up to have Peyton Krebs take more faceoffs.
While the pressure might be on the Montreal Canadiens in Game 2, these four Buffalo Sabres have a great chance to give their team a big series lead against the division rival.
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