Buffalo left the Bell Centre with a 3-2 NHL Playoffs win over the Montréal Canadiens, powered by a sharp special teams display and a busy goalie who looked unbothered by a loud crowd of 20,962. Zach Benson buried the third-period winner on the power play, Tage Thompson delivered 1 goal and 1 assist, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 28 of 30 to headline the night on Sofascore’s box score.

Early swings at Bell Centre

Buffalo struck first through Mattias Samuelsson, finishing a first-period rush from Josh Norris and Josh Doan. Montréal answered quickly when Alex Newhook converted off feeds from Jake Evans and Ivan Demidov. Late in the frame, Cole Caufield’s power-play snap shot made it 2-1, assisted by Juraj Slafkovský and Lane Hutson.

The first period ended with Buffalo trailing despite a 12-8 shots advantage. Montréal leaned into the physical side with 15 hits to 3 and set a tone that carried through the night.

Special teams tip the balance

The middle frame turned on penalties. A double minor to Bowen Byram and another to Alexandre Carrier highlighted a chippy stretch, and Buffalo finally cashed in. Thompson’s power-play goal, set up by Rasmus Dahlin, tied it 2-2.

In the third, a holding call on Evans opened the door again. Benson needed only seconds of the man advantage to fire home the winner, assisted by Doan and Thompson. Buffalo finished 2/4 on the power play, while Montréal went 1/7.

Blue line wall and a calm No. 1

Luukkonen was steady all night, posting a .933 save percentage and perfect third period. At the other end, Jakub Dobeš recorded 19 saves on 22 shots for the Canadiens.

Buffalo’s skaters helped their goalie in style. The Sabres blocked 27 shots to Montréal’s 6, with Samuelsson leading a busy back end that also logged six hits. Game Stars on the night: 1) Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, 2) Mattias Samuelsson, 3) Cole Caufield.

Numbers that tell the story

Montréal outshot Buffalo 30-22 and owned the shot share with 61.1% Corsi and 53.1% Fenwick on Sofascore, plus a shorter average shot distance of 8.8 to 10.4. The Sabres won the small margins, though, taking faceoffs 32/61 (52%) and dominating the shot-blocking column to protect the lead late.

Key contributors: Thompson 1G 1A, Benson the power-play winner, Doan 2A. For Montréal, Newhook and Caufield found the net, with Hutson and Slafkovský on the lone power-play strike. Track every player’s page and Sofascore Rating on the Sofascore app.