MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens built an early two-goal lead, and the Bell Centre — already primed for a celebration — was rocking.
A trip to the NHL’s Eastern Conference final was firmly in their grasp. Then they let it slip away in stunning fashion.
The Canadiens are headed to another Game 7 after an 8-3 thumping to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night, blowing a multi-goal advantage at home in a potential series-clinching game for the first time in franchise history.
“How shocked? Pretty shocked,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. “We’re up 3-1 in the first period and we lose 8-3, so that’s disappointing, for sure.
“Probably the worst game we’ve played.”
Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and four assists — tying a franchise playoff record with five points — as the Sabres stormed back after swapping goalies to even the second-round playoff series at three games apiece.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped all 18 shots he faced in relief for Alex Lyon, who gave up three goals on four shots before he was pulled.
“I felt like the bench was alive the whole game. We believed in it from the beginning and (Luukkonen) came in and gave us a little boost,” Dahlin said. “It was a mix of everything but I’m super happy with the character from today’s game.
“We played loose, we played with confidence. It was an overall ‘A’ game from us.”
Tage Thompson had one goal and three assists, while Jack Quinn added two goals and an assist to help the Sabres spoil the party inside and outside the Bell Centre, preventing the Canadiens from taking the series — at least for now.
“We did have control of it,” Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson said. “They made a push, they made some good plays, and we didn’t really fight back hard enough for whatever reason.
“Credit to them. They played a good game.”
The Canadiens will have another chance to advance as the series shifts back to Buffalo’s KeyBank Center for the decisive Game 7 on Monday. The winner will take on the Carolina Hurricanes, who haven’t played since sweeping the Philadelphia Flyers on May 9.
Jakub Dobes gave up six goals on 33 shots before coach Martin St. Louis pulled him with 10:02 remaining. Jacob Fowler then stopped one of two shots in his NHL playoff debut.
Jake Evans — with an assist — Arber Xhekaj and Ivan Demidov scored for the Canadiens, who jumped out to a 3-1 lead and chased Lyon midway through the first period.
The Sabres then scored seven unanswered goals to more than erase the Canadiens’ advantage.
“I don’t think it was long, that we were in control,” St. Louis said. “We didn’t play a good game. We had some moments, but not many.
“We didn’t have a lot of calm or poise. It’s hard … It’s noisy, it’s a lot of chaos. We didn’t think clearly through the chaos tonight. We’re better than that. It wasn’t a good game for us.”
Jason Zucker brought one back on the power play at 13:56 in the first, then Zach Benson sparked a dominant second period for the Sabres, scoring from a tight angle one minute in.
Quinn gave the Sabres a 4-3 lead with another goal on the man-advantage at 10:54, before Konsta Helenius buried a pass from Zucker on a 2-on-1 just 2:05 later to stun the Canadiens and their once-feverish crowd.
“We’re up a goal going into the second period, pretty good spot,” Suzuki said. “Just lost control of the game there.”
Hours before puck drop, the energy was already at a fever pitch in a city where cheering for the Canadiens is practically a birthright. Thousands clad in the Canadiens’ bleu-blanc-rouge swarmed the streets surrounding the Bell Centre, with Montreal police asking fans to refrain from letting off pyrotechnics in anticipation of the frenzy.
Canadiens legend Larry Robinson raised the ceremonial torch to the crackling crowd to kick off the first Saturday night playoff game before a full-capacity Bell Centre since 2015. A chorus of ear-splitting “Olé, Olé, Olé” chants then delayed the national anthems, as it has all spring.
Montreal, however, fell to a surprising 2-4 at home this post-season, despite playing in what’s considered one of the greatest atmospheres in hockey.
“I think guys maybe want to try to do too much here to impress the fans and give them back some love,” Suzuki said. “Can’t just let that affect us mentally and we’ve got to keep things simple and keep doing what makes us successful, regardless of where we’re playing.”
“Sometimes you get a little over-aggressive, overexcited,” he added. “We love playing here, it’s just a matter of us trying to execute the game plan better.”
Dahlin quickly hushed the crowd with a goal 32 seconds into the game, deking around Juraj Slafkovsky following the Montreal forward’s turnover before scoring on his backhand.
The action hardly stopped there as Montreal and Buffalo combined for five goals in a chaotic first period, mirroring the wild start to Game 5.
Just as the first “Ly-on!” taunts began, Xhekaj’s point shot fooled the Sabres netminder glove side to tie the score at 1:40 and spark a three-goal run.
But the Sabres had an answer and then some after a morning film session painted a clear message.
“A whole bunch of clips where there was slowness in our game, and I told the team I’d rather err that they made a mistake going than not going,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “We just used this expression this morning that was ‘JFG.’
“And you can figure out what that is.”
Montreal also led 3-2 in its first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, dropping Game 6 at home before winning Game 7 in Tampa Bay.
It’s an experience the Canadiens will have to lean on Monday.
“There’s no panic or anything. I think we’re all excited. Just more hockey for us,” Hutson said. “We don’t want it easy. We like the challenge, and they brought their best, and we’ve got to answer the bell.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2026.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
