The Buffalo Sabres find themselves in uncharted territory for the first time these playoffs as they are entering Game 6 facing elimination. For any fans watching the first period of Game 5, it is hard to imagine they are in this position after they jumped out to a 3-2 lead.
Unfortunately, the Canadiens would score four straight goals to win 6-3 and take a 3-2 series lead back to Montreal for Saturday night's game. When looking ahead to this game, the Sabres collectively are under plenty of pressure. Lindy Ruff seems to acknowledge that by not bringing the team to the rink on Friday, and may even cancel the morning skate before Game 6.
However, there is varying degrees of pressure that these players are facing. For some, like Zach Benson and Josh Doan, they are under pressure to just keep playing as well as they have.
For others though, they are looked to as key parts of this roster and need to step up. These are five players who have struggled in this series against the Canadiens that need to turn it around before it is too late.
Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson
Certainly, Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson are under pressure as the team's leaders as the captain and the alternate, respectively. The problem has not just been the lack of positive plays, but also making mistakes that are actually hurting the Sabres.
For Thompson, he has now had penalties called on him for cross-checking that he didn't need to have called. In both instances, he was nowhere near the play when the check occurred. The problem is that in both cases, the Canadiens would end up scoring on the ensuing power play.
As for Dahlin, he is entering Game 6 with a streak of at least one point in the past three games, with one goal and three assists during that stretch. Unfortunately, similar to Thompson, he has been unable to stay out of the penalty box and has had at least one penalty each game this series.
The Sabres can't afford to give the Canadiens any extra advantage, and that means staying out of the penalty box. It has to start with their leaders setting that tone for their team.
Alex Tuch
It has been a tale of two series for Alex Tuch in these playoffs. He was exceptional in the series against the Bruins with a point in five of the six games as he scored four goals and three assists with a +/- of +7. As good as he was against the Bruins, he has been equally as bad against the Canadiens, with no points and a +/- of -8.
The Sabres forward has really struggled in almost every area, including penalty kill, where the team has actually been pretty good this season. They have now given up six power play goals against the Canadiens, and they have a power play percentage of 27.2%.
There is no question that the best way to neutralize a good power play team is to avoid taking penalties. Again, that falls on Dahlin and Thompson to set the tone. However, when they are down a man, Alex Tuch needs to step up and be the driving force behind the penalty kill.
Bowen Byram
Another player who was excellent against the Boston Bruins but has been almost a non-factor in this series has been Bowen Byram. He had an incredible stretch from Game 2 to Game 4 against the Bruins with five points and was arguably the team's best defenseman in that series.
In this series against the Canadiens, Byram has only one point. That was a goal back in Game 1, but since then, he has not been able to contribute much to the offense and has a +/- of -6.
Another reason that Byram is on this list and is something that fans need to watch closely leading up to Game 6 and into the game is the health of Owen Power. The Sabres defenseman took an ugly hit into the boards, where it looked like his legs got tangled up.
On Friday, Lindy Ruff said Power felt better than expected, and that is a good sign that he might be available for the game today. If he does play, he probably won't be at 100%, and that means Byram playing alongside him might need to do more to help this team.
Alex Lyon
There is no indication who the starter in net for the Buffalo Sabres is at this point, but it would be surprising if it wasn't Alex Lyon. In Game 5, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen got the start but looked shaky as he gave up five goals in two periods before being replaced by Lyon to start the third period.
Lyon has been excellent at times this season, and even in the playoffs, but his last two starts he gave up a combined nine goals. In both of those games, Lyon didn't necessarily play poorly, but he didn't get much help in front of him, which allowed the Canadiens to capitalize on easy goals.
This will be a big test for the Buffalo Sabres' goalie, and if he can steal some goals early, it can help generate the momentum needed for the Sabres to fight off elimination and push this series to a Game 7.
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