5-2 Montreal 3rd period
Series tied 1-1
| Goaltenders: Lyon, Sabres; Dobes, Canadiens | Caulfield breaks the schneid |
Montreal didn’t wilt after that gut‑punch opener — they did the opposite. Thompson’s strike at 00:53 off the end‑boards bounce was the kind of early dagger that can make a home crowd tighten up, and for a moment it looked like Buffalo might turn the night into a road‑team ambush. The Sabres had only two shots through ten minutes but one of them was the goal, a clean Thompson finish from the doorstep.
But the Canadiens have settled into that stubborn, blue‑collar rhythm they’ve been leaning on all postseason. They’re winning draws — 60% in the first — and they’ve tilted the ice back their way with six shots to Buffalo’s two, grinding out possession shifts and forcing the Sabres to defend longer than they’d like. Montreal’s forecheck has sharpened, their gaps have tightened, and the building has that low, rumbling confidence again, the kind that says the early goal was an inconvenience, not a prophecy.
If Buffalo wants to keep this cracked open, they’ll need more than the Thompson flash. Montreal looks like a team that absorbed the punch, spat blood on the ice, and went right back to work. The next swing feels like it’s coming from them.
