Stay out of the penalty box.
If Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff could only deliver a single message before Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens at the KeyBank Center on Monday night, that should be it: Stop taking lazy, avoidable penalties that give the Habs' dangerous power play a chance to take over the contest.
The Canadiens ranked 10th in the NHL during the regular season by converting 23.1% of their power-play opportunities. They've upped that slightly to 23.5% in the 2026 NHL Playoffs, and they're connecting at a 28% rate (7 of 25) against the Sabres in the second-round series.
Buffalo's concern should go beyond those numbers, too.
First, Montreal's ability to hold the zone throughout the series has been incredible. It's often won the faceoff and controlled the puck for upwards of 30 seconds with the man advantage. The Sabres have struggled mightily to clog up passing lanes and generate clearances.
Ruff's group relies on an aggressive penalty kill that depends on forcing turnovers by creating quick pressure on the puck. The Habs' high-skill first PP unit has easily overcome that challenge from the league's fourth-ranked PK during the regular season.
Second, the Sabres can't depend on their own power play despite a recent uptick in performance. The unit ranked 20th this season (19.5%) and recently endured an unbelievable 0-for-39 drought.
So, if Game 7 comes down to a battle of which PP is more effective, it's hard to draw any conclusion other than the Canadiens being a clear favorite.
Buffalo can avoid that issue by eliminating the preventable penalties it's been taking all series, a problem that goes all the way to the top with Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson both making far too many trips to the box throughout the postseason so far.
It won't be the only message Ruff delivers ahead of faceoff Monday night, but it should certainly be one of them.
Meanwhile, let's take a look back as the Blue and Gold's impressive Game 6 win with the latest edition of our Sabres playoff player grades series.
Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson rise to the occasion to keep the Buffalo Sabres' season alive vs. Montreal Canadiens
Sabres grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Rasmus Dahlin | 10 |
Tage Thompson | 9.5 |
Zach Benson | 9.5 |
Jack Quinn | 9 |
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 9 |
Konsta Helenius | 8.5 |
Jason Zucker | 8 |
Mattias Samuelsson | 7.5 |
Josh Norris | 7.5 |
Owen Power | 7 |
Josh Doan | 7 |
Alex Tuch | 7 |
Bowen Byram | 6.5 |
Ryan McLeod | 6 |
Zach Metsa | 5.5 |
Conor Timmins | 5 |
Jordan Greenway | 4 |
Beck Malenstyn | 3 |
Peyton Krebs | 1.5 |
Alex Lyon | 1 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Rasmus Dahlin
Dahlin became the first defenseman in NHL history to score five points with his team facing elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He opened the scoring just 32 seconds into Game 6 and proceeded to dish out four assists as part of the Sabres' 8-3 victory.
The 26-year-old Swede has been his typically efficient self throughout the postseason, with Buffalo usually winning the minutes when he's on the ice, but that type of game-changing offensive takeover had been absent until Saturday night in Montreal.
Dahlin has firmly established himself as one of the league's top blueliners, as evidenced by his status as a finalist for the Norris Trophy, but the playoffs were uncharted territory for the Sabres captain, who's spent his entire career with the organization since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2018.
Buffalo relies heavily on its top-four defense quartet, also featuring Mattias Samuelsson, Bowen Byram and Owen Power, to help drive its offense. That group's success is probably the biggest reason for the club's turnaround, and the Habs finally got a taste of that on Saturday.
The Sabres will hope for a repeat performance from Dahlin and Co. in Game 7.
Sabres quick hits
- Tage Thompson looked more like himself en route to four points (a goal and three assists) in Game 6. Like Dahlin, he'll carry a heavy burden on his shoulders Monday night.
- A typical Zach Benson playoff outing: a goal, an assist, six shots on goal, a plus-three rating, 10 penalty minutes, two blocked shots, a hit and countless chips at the Habs.
- Full credit to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who rebounded from a dreadful Game 5 showing to help save the day on Saturday by stopping all 18 shots after he relieved Alex Lyon in the first period. Lyon made just one save on four shots.
- UPL will likely start Game 7, but Ruff is going to have a quick hook given the goaltending issues that arose this series.
- Konsta Helenius is a superstar in the making.
- Zach Metsa held his own in his first career playoff appearance and probably earned a spot in the Game 7 lineup.
- Buffalo and Montreal are set for a 7:30 p.m. ET faceoff on Monday with a spot in the Eastern Conference Final on the line.
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