The Buffalo Sabres have come alive in the second period in a do-or-die Game 6, potting four unanswered to lead the Montreal Canadiens 5-3 through 40 minutes at the Bell Centre Saturday night.
The Canadiens lead the series 3-2.
After scoring only 32 seconds into the first period, the Sabres struck similarly to begin the second frame. Thanks to assists from Tage Thompson and Bowen Byram, Zach Benson’s fifth goal of the playoffs, a minute into the second period, tied things up at three.
Buffalo lit the lamp again, and again in the second period, as nearly 10 minutes later, Jack Quinn beat Jakub Dobes for the team’s second power play goal of the game, giving the Sabres the 4-3 advantage.
Just over two minutes later, Buffalo scored their fourth unanswered, with Konsta Helenius finding the back of the net for the second straight game and extending the Sabres’ lead to 5-3 heading into the second intermission.
After goals rained down to begin Game 5, the same happened to begin the first period in Game 6, with each team finding the back of the net within the first 1:40.
As they did in Game 5, Buffalo struck first, with defenceman Rasmus Dahlin’s backhand beating Montreal’s Jakub Dobes. The goal was scored on the Sabres’ first shot of the game and only 31 seconds in.
Just over a minute later, however, the Canadiens answered back thanks to blueliner Arber Xhekaj, to tie things up at one.
Montreal was next on the board as well, as Ivan Demidov capitalized on the power play for his second of the playoffs with Dahlin in the box. That gave the Habs a 2-1 lead nearly midway through the period.
That lead grew just two minutes later, as Jake Evans beat Sabres netminder Alex Lyon shorthanded to extend Montreal’s lead to 3-1.
Before the period’s end, however, Buffalo’s Jason Zucker found the back of the net on the power play to bring the Sabres within one heading into first intermission, before exploding in the second period.
