The Montreal Canadiens let a golden chance slip away on Saturday night after suffering a brutal 8-3 loss against the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of the NHL Eastern Conference semifinals. With the defeat, the series is now tied 3-3 and headed to a winner-takes-all Game 7 in Buffalo.
Montreal looked in complete control early at the Bell Centre. After Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin opened the scoring just 32 seconds into the game, the Canadiens answered with three straight goals from Arber Xhekaj, Ivan Demidov, and Jake Evans. The quick outburst forced Buffalo to pull starting goalie Alex Lyon less than 10 minutes into the contest.
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However, the entire game changed once backup goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen entered the net. Luukkonen stopped all 17 shots he faced while Buffalo exploded for seven unanswered goals. Dahlin finished with five points, while Jack Quinn scored twice and added an assist in the comeback victory.
Montreal captain Nick Suzuki did not hide his frustration after the embarrassing collapse. Speaking to reporters following the loss, Suzuki admitted the Canadiens failed to rise to the moment.
“I mean, probably the worst game we’ve played,” Suzuki said. “So, we can… You know, we’re only going up and, I think it’s gonna be important for you know, guys to look at themselves in the mirror and say that we got an opportunity to win one game and to move on to the third round. So, we’ll take that any time throughout the season.”
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Coach Martin St. Louis calls out Canadiens’ lack of composure
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis also pointed to the team’s inability to stay calm once Buffalo gained momentum. He credited the Sabres for handling the pressure better during the chaotic moments of the game.
“You have to give credit to the other side, they played a very good game,” St. Louis said after the defeat. “We didn’t have much calm or poise. It’s tough, you have to live through these moments to learn.
“These are stressful moments for players who want the result. It’s loud, there’s a lot of chaos, and tonight we didn’t see things clearly through that chaos. We are better than that. It wasn’t a good game for us.”
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Despite the rough performance, Suzuki remains one of Montreal’s biggest positives this season. The Canadiens captain recorded a career-high 101 points during the regular season, becoming the first Montreal player since 1985-86 to cross the 100-point mark. He has also produced 12 points in 13 playoff games entering Game 7.
The deciding matchup will take place Monday night at KeyBank Center, with the winner advancing to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Finals.
