Here are my three takeaways from tonight’s 8-3 Montreal Canadiens loss to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6.
1- What happened...?!
Everyone in the building and everyone on the Canadiens bench had to be thinking the same thing: how did things unravel so quickly?
Montreal looked completely in control and well on their way to punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference Final. They scored on their first three shots on goal, one at even strength, one on the power play and one shorthanded. They chased Alex Lyon from the crease and forced Lindy Ruff into an early goalie change. The Bell Centre was in a celebratory mood and the Sabres looked lifeless with no answer for Montreal’s early push.
But everything changed abruptly when Mike Matheson took a four-minute high-sticking penalty. Buffalo capitalized with Jason Zucker scoring on a bit of a broken play, giving the Sabres life.
To Montreal’s credit, they followed that goal with a couple of dominant offensive-zone shifts, but they couldn’t extend the lead and instead headed into the intermission up by just one.
The second period completely belonged to Buffalo. For the second time in the game, and continuing a troubling trend, Montreal allowed a goal in the opening minute of the period. The Sabres then got goals from Jack Quinn and Konsta Helenius, and for the first time all playoffs, the Bell Centre went quiet.
You have to give Buffalo credit for refusing to quit. Now, for the second time this postseason, Montreal will have to go on the road and win a Game 7 to keep its season alive.
2- Slafkovsky has his worst game of the postseason
Juraj Slafkovsky had a disaster of an opening shift and things never got better from there.
He blew a tire in the neutral zone, turning the puck over and sending the Sabres the other way. He then chased Rasmus Dahlin and pulled more of a fly-by than an actual defensive play, giving Buffalo’s captain a clear lane to the net and another early lead.
The rest of the night wasn’t any better for Montreal’s young budding star. He couldn’t handle the puck and seemed to either fumble it or turn it over every time it came his way. On the power play, he was a dead spot on the ice.
Last game, Slafkovsky finished with three assists and was one of Montreal’s most impactful forwards. Game 6 could not have gone any differently.
There’s really been no middle ground for Slafkovsky in these playoffs. He’s either been terrific or he’s struggled mightily. On a team filled with young players, he’s probably shown the biggest highs and lows emotionally and performance-wise. He’s getting a crash course in playoff hockey.
3- Turn the page
A lot of the issues that plagued Montreal during the regular season resurfaced in Game 6.
It was another poor start, allowing the opening goal of the game. It was another rough night on the penalty kill, a unit that has been operating below 80 percent in the playoffs and gave up three more goals. And maybe most concerning, home ice once again meant very little. Montreal’s home record in these playoffs now falls to 2-4.
Last round against Tampa Bay, the Canadiens actually played a strong Game 6 but ran into a locked-in Andrei Vasilevskiy, who essentially stole the game. That wasn’t the case tonight.
Against Buffalo, Montreal was thoroughly outplayed in almost every measurable category and simply couldn’t match the desperation level the Sabres brought with their season on the line.
The one positive is that by taking a 3-2 series lead, the Canadiens gave themselves multiple chances to eliminate Buffalo while the Sabres had no margin for error.
Montreal already found a way to win a Game 7 on the road once in these playoffs. Now we’ll see if they can do it again.
