An action-packed second period ended with four goals scored between the teams, and the Montreal Canadiens leading the Buffalo Sabres 4-2, headed to the final frame of Game 3.
Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky and Zachary Bolduc scored goals in the second period for Montreal, and Rasmus Dahlin scored a marker for Buffalo.
The period featured an extension of the heated competition from the first period, with post-whistle scrums and battles the standard, as it was in the first period.
Alex Lyon was shaky in the second period, and has saved 24 of 28 shots through two frames for Buffalo. Jakub Dobes has turned away 16 of 18 shots headed to the final frame.
The Canadiens spent the final two minutes on the power play - their fifth of the game - but could not cash in their third goal on the man advantage.
Montreal picked up its third power-play opportunity of the game after Josh Doan took a tripping penalty at the 4:43 mark of the second period - and they finally cashed in against the elite Sabres penalty kill.
Greenway’s stick broke early in the special teams possession for Buffalo, and with the Canadiens essentially playing a 5-on-3, Lane Hutson put on a couple of pretty moves before finding Caufield wide open in the slot, who buried the puck for an easy goal to give Montreal the lead.
Not long after Caufield gave the Canadiens their first lead of the game and electrified the crowd, the Habs appeared to score another to take a two-goal lead - the puck was in the back of the net after a scrum in the crease, but the referees whistled the play dead, believing Alex Lyon had the puck under control.
Joe Veleno picked up his first playoff points of his career - just seven seconds into his shift - as he burst down towards the Sabres net before finding Bolduc with a centering pass, and Bolduc ripped the puck by Lyon to give Montreal a 3-1 lead.
With the Canadiens in full control, the Sabres took a very questionable penalty as Beck Malenstyn skated full-speed into the Canadiens’ net, making direct contact with Dobes and starting a wild brawl. Malenstyn took a two-minute penalty for goaltender interference, while Jordan Greenway and Bolduc each were sent off for interference penalties.
Montreal converted on the chance with a goal from Slafkovsky almost immediately, extending the lead to 4-1 and eliciting a fiery reaction from Dobes after the contact that led to the power play.
Buffalo made its first progress of the second period on a power play late in the frame - Kirby Dach took a penalty for holding Josh Doan’s stick, and Dahlin was able to score just 16 seconds into the man advantage on a slap shot from distance to cut the Sabres’ deficit to 4-2.
Replay confirmed the puck was never controlled by Lyon, and the fans let the referees know their disapproval with a deafening “refs, you suck” chant.
After some rough stuff late in the first period, the second period opened with 4-on-4 play for 44 seconds, before the Canadiens went on a power play.
Neither side was able to break through, even after Cole Caufield had a chance on an open net and sent it just wide during Montreal’s power play.
Newhook scored his goal in a right-place-right-time opportunity in the first period, as his shot from a hard angle took a bounce off a Sabres skater in front of the net and trickled in behind Lyon to even the score at 1-1.
A defensive breakdown let the puck find Rasmus Dahlin’s stick at the blue line in the game’s opening possession in the Canadiens zone. Dahlin’s shot on net took an odd bounce off a player and found Thompson all alone in the crease, who deposited the puck for an easy goal to open the scoring.
The Sabres and Habs are each looking to take a lead in the series - the Canadiens are looking for their first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals since the 2021 playoffs, while the Sabres are trying to advance that far for the first time since 2007.
The winner of this series will play the Carolina Hurricanes in the next round, after Carolina completed the sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
