Morning Coffee: Can the Canadiens bounce back in Buffalo for Game 2?

Sound the siren.

The Carolina Hurricanes haven’t been able to find a way to win the big one in recent years.

Considering how they are playing right now – and the fact that the Eastern Conference has never looked weaker – this could finally be the year they get over the hump.

With just the one game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last night, all eyes were on the Philadelphia Flyers to see how they would respond in Game 3 after falling behind 2-0 in their second round series against Carolina.

While the Flyers showed some resilience early on, it was the Hurricanes that ultimately cruised to a 4-1 win.

Andrei Svechnikov finally got on the board with his first goal of these Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Carolina’s captain Jordan Staal wasn’t named one of the game’s three stars, but he was the first star in my books, scoring the first goal, setting up the game-winning goal shorthanded, registering three hits and 10 faceoff wins.

The fact that they cruised to victory is that much more impressive considering they didn’t get a point from the trio of Logan Stankoven, Taylor Hall, and Jackson Blake, which have made up their best line this postseason.

Meanwhile, Frederik Andersen became the third goalie in NHL history to start a postseason with seven straight wins and give up two goals or fewer in all of them, joining Hall of Fame netminders Terry Sawchuk and Jacques Plante.

While Andersen was quick to credit his teammates after the game, it’s clear that he’s elevated his play and gone from a potential liability to a solid option in net.

Carolina is the 13th team ever to open the postseason with seven straight wins and only the fifth since the NHL went to a best-of-seven format in 1987.

Teams that lead a best-of-seven 3-0 have gone on to win the series 98 per cent of the time.

The Hurricanes are one win away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Final for the second year in a row and the third time in the last four seasons.

This time around, it won’t be the Florida Panthers or the Tampa Bay Lightning standing in their way of reaching the Stanley Cup Final.

The Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres were both overlooked as legitimate contenders this season.

With the Sabres jumping out to an early lead with a convincing 4-2 win on home ice, it’s up to the Canadiens to respond as they chase the all-important road split in Game 2 of their second round series tonight.

Let’s dive into that matchup and lock in a couple of best bets for tonight’s NHL games in this Morning Coffee column for Friday May 8th, 2026.

Can The Canadiens Bounce Back In Game 2 In Buffalo?

Sabres fans were forced to wait 15 years for the Stanley Cup Playoffs to return to Buffalo.

Now that they’re back, those fans are hoping this is the start of a deep postseason run.

After dispatching the Boston Bruins in six, Buffalo cruised to a 4-2 win over Montreal in the opener of their second round series to secure their first postseason win beyond the first round since 2007.

While they registered only 16 shots on goal, the Sabres jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and never looked in jeopardy of letting the win slip away from them.

How will the Canadiens respond in Game 2 on the road?

After surviving a gruelling seven-game series against the Lightning in the first round, it’s fair to wonder how much the Habs have left in the tank.

Montreal has lost eight of its last nine best-of-seven series when they trail 1-0.

During the regular season, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Ivan Demidov were the club’s most productive forwards outside of captain Nick Suzuki.

The trio of Caufield, Slafkovsky, and Demidov was held to a single point in their last five games against the Lightning before the latter two both registered an assist on Suzuki’s powerplay goal in Game 1 in Buffalo.

In their first loss by more than one goal this postseason, the lack of scoring chances from that trio was that much more glaring.

Meanwhile, the Sabres scored four goals despite not getting a single point from their leading scorers Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch.

In fact, neither one of Thompson nor Tuch managed to record a single shot on goal.

Despite that lack of production, the numbers and eye test both pointed to Buffalo as the better team in Game 1.

So, while it’s easy to point to the Canadiens top line as the key to their potential bounce back tonight, it’s important to keep in mind that Buffalo expects more from its top line as well in Game 2.

Home teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-seven have gone on to advance 68 per cent of the time.

The Sabres have been the better team in terms of expected goals and high danger scoring chances dating back to the regular season.

Alex Lyon has posted a .950 save percentage and 5.5 Goals Saved Above Expected in five postseason starts.

With Lyon shining and the Habs top scorers struggling to produce at 5-on-5, it could be a recipe for disaster for Montreal.

On Wednesday morning, I made the mistake of not giving out the Buffalo Sabres -130 as a FanDuel Best Bet.

This morning, I’ll lock in Sabres moneyline for Game 2.

I’ll also jump on Josh Doan to record 1+ point at +130, Lane Hutson to record 2+ shots on goal at +100, Bowen Byram 2+ shots on goal at -108, and a builder SGP with Slafkovsky 2+ shots on goal and Dahlin 2+ shots on goal at -120.

The Canadiens have struggled to generate scoring chances, so we could see Hutson jump into the rush and look to create more at 5-on-5 after he registered four shots on goal on five attempts.

Slafkovsky led Montreal with seven attempts in Game 1 and hit the net with four of them.

Dahlin led Buffalo in shots on goal (4) and shot attempts (6), while Byram registered two shots on goal on five attempts and has cleared 2+ in six of seven for Buffalo.

Hopefully, we can sweep the board and end the week on a high note.

Have a great weekend, everyone!