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Who will win the Atlantic Division is shaping up to be the most intriguing storyline of the second-round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres are tied at two after four exciting contests, and Game 5 awaits at KeyBank Center in Western New York on Thursday night.
After losing Game 4 3-2 at the Bell Centre, Habs head coach Martin St. Louis revealed how his team can wrestle home-ice advantage back from their divisional rivals.
“We spent a lot of time in their zone,” St. Louis told reporters, per NHL.com’s Sean Farrell. “They had three or four guys in front of their net so it’s hard to shoot from there when they’re all there. So we have to keep on playing together and maybe be a little more calculated with our shot selection. If you give us that much time in the offensive zone, I’m pretty sure that we’re going to be OK.”
The Canadiens have dominated both of their victories, outscoring the Sabres 11-3 in Games 2 and 3. Tuesday’s loss at home came by a single goal, and one of those was on a wacky bounce from a Tage Thompson dump in.
“We’re playing good hockey,” the bench boss continued. “That’s a good team over there. It would be fun to be up 3-1, it would be fun if the series was over, but they’re a good team. It’s 2-2, so let’s go, let’s keep it going.”
“It’s a tight series,” forward Zachary Bolduc echoed. “As a young team, we got a lot of experience in that first round against an older team and we’re ready to face anything. We’ve just got to go to Buffalo and do our best and I think good things will happen.”
Montreal has been perfect following a loss in these playoffs, going 4-0 through 11 Stanley Cup Playoff games. They’ll look to keep that streak alive on Thursday.
“We’ve done it all year,” said defenseman Noah Dobson. “Whether at home or on the road, I feel like we bring the same game. We are confident in both situations, both environments, and we’ll focus on tomorrow and go from there.”
Puck drops on another crucial contest between the Atlantic Division rivals just past 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday.
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