The Buffalo Sabres rebounded from two straight shellackings at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens to secure a critical Game 4 road win at the Bell Centre, which leveled the series at two games apiece as the teams fight for a spot in the Eastern Conference Final.
Habs superstar Cole Caufield wasn't as impressed with the Sabres' bounce-back performance as some outside observers, though. He feels Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen merely stole the game for the Atlantic Division champions.
"We broke them down a bunch, had our looks," Caufield told reporters. "Their goalie made some big saves, kept them in it."
Although there's an element of truth to the winger's comments, as the Canadiens still generated 19 high-danger chances and took up residency in the inner slot at times, saying Luukkonen is the only reason Buffalo won feels a bit simplistic.
The Sabres did a much better job of keeping pace with the Habs, creating far more looks offensively than they did over the previous two losses, and the club's penalty kill rose to the occasion amid a parade to the penalty box by killing off six of Montreal's seven power-play chances.
Yes, UPL deserves his fair share of the praise after stopping 28 of the Canadiens' 30 shots, but Tuesday night was much closer to a full team effort for Buffalo. It wasn't perfect, or anywhere close, but it was a key step in the right direction after getting embarrassed in Games 2 and 3.
The Blue and Gold must still clean up their play in the defensive zone and stop taking so many avoidable penalties if they want to win the series, though.
For now, let's examine the newest edition of our Sabres playoff player grades series as the battle shifts back to the KeyBank Center in Buffalo for Game 5 on Thursday night.
Mattias Samuelsson shines as Buffalo Sabres emerge victorious in virtual must-win Game 4 clash with the Montreal Canadiens
Sabres player grades
Player | Grade (1-10) |
|---|---|
Mattias Samuelsson | 9.5 |
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen | 9 |
Zach Benson | 8.5 |
Rasmus Dahlin | 8 |
Konsta Helenius | 7.5 |
Josh Doan | 7.5 |
Tage Thompson | 7 |
Josh Norris | 6 |
Alex Tuch | 6 |
Jack Quinn | 5.5 |
Owen Power | 5.5 |
Conor Timmins | 5 |
Jason Zucker | 5 |
Luke Schenn | 5 |
Beck Malenstyn | 4.5 |
Ryan McLeod | 4.5 |
Peyton Krebs | 4 |
Jordan Greenway | 3 |
Bowen Byram | 2 |
Buffalo Player of the Game: Mattias Samuelsson
The evolution of Samuelsson this season has been nothing short of incredible. There were flashes over his first five seasons of the 6-foot-4 Philadelphia native developing into a shutdown defender, but there wasn't even a hint of him ultimately becoming a true two-way force.
Well, here we are. The alternate captain opened the scoring for Buffalo early in the first period and he proceeded to skate over seven minutes on the penalty kill in the contest as his teammates couldn't stop taking completely preventable penalties.
Samuelsson also stepped up late in the third period as the Canadiens made a final push for a tying goal, frequently making strong plays along the wall to take away time and space. His combination of size, reach and defensive awareness has proven invaluable for Buffalo throughout the playoff run.
The Sabres will continue to lean heavily on him for the remainder of the postseason, and he's firmly established himself as part of the club's future after questions about that before this season.
Sabres quick hits
- Buffalo's long-dormant power play continued to show signs of life with a pair of goals from Tage Thompson and Zach Benson in Game 4, though Thompson's was the result of a lucky bounce off the boards.
- Konsta Helenius didn't look out of place in the least in his first playoff appearance. He probably should have been in the Sabres' lineup all along.
- Buffalo actually won the faceoff battle for once (32-29), which helped the team in defending a one-goal lead for the final 15 minutes.
- Jack Quinn continues to generate scoring chances but he needs to a better job of turning them into goals, or at least shots on net as many of his attempts sail high or wide.
- Luke Schenn played just seven minutes but held his own in those limited shifts, including some PK work.
- Bowen Byram took two head-scratching high-sticking penalties, including one double minor, while defending players nowhere near the puck. It could've cost Buffalo the game and can't happen again.
- The Sabres return home for Game 5 on Thursday night (7 p.m. ET) and will attempt to regain the series lead for the first time since Game 1.
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