Canadiens, Sabres head to pivotal Game 5

Buffalo got exactly what it needed in Game 4 — a reset. The Sabres beat Montreal 3-2 on Tuesday night at Bell Centre, tying the second-round series 2-2 and dragging the matchup back to Buffalo for a very real hinge game on Thursday. That matters because 2-1 and 2-2 are completely different worlds in a best-of-seven. One puts the trailing team on the edge. The other turns the series into a sprint. ### What changed in Game 4? The simple version is that Buffalo stopped the slide. Montreal had won Games 2 and 3, and the Sabres looked messy doing it — too many turnovers, too many offensive-zone penalties, too much of the game played on Montreal’s terms. In Game 4, Buffalo still had shaky stretches, but it survived them and finished the night with the last punch. Zach Benson scored the third-period winner, and suddenly the whole series feels open again. ### Why was Benson the story? Because he delivered the biggest goal of the night on his 21st birthday. Benson broke a 2-2 tie with 15:19 left in the third, controlling Josh Doan’s pass with his skate in front and slipping a backhand past Jakub Dobes. He already had a strong postseason, but this pushed him into centerpiece territory for Buffalo in this series. He now has four goals and seven points in the playoffs, with four of those points coming against Montreal. (nhl.com) ### How did Buffalo survive the chaos? Mostly with goaltending and penalty killing. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen came back in net for the first time since Game 2 of Round 1 and stopped 28 of 30 shots. Buffalo also killed 6 of 7 Montreal power plays and blocked 27 shots. That is not a clean, comfortable way to win, but in the playoffs “good enough under pressure” counts the same as dominance. The Sabres needed saves and structure more than style, and they got both. (nhl.com) ### Didn’t Buffalo almost lose control early? Yes — and that’s part of why the result matters. The Sabres came out flying and thought they had gone up 2-0, but a long sequence of video reviews wiped out the second goal for goalie interference. After that, momentum flipped hard. Montreal tied it, then grabbed a 2-1 lead late in the first on a Cole Caufield power-play goal. A Buffalo team that had been unraveling in earlier losses easily could have done it again. (nhl.com) Instead, Tage Thompson tied it on the power play and Benson finished it later. ### So why is Game 5 such a big deal? Because this is the fork in the road. NHL.com’s updated schedule has the series tied 2-2, with Game 5 set for Thursday, May 14, at 7 p.m. ET in Buffalo. Win that one, and you move one game from the conference final with two chances to close. Lose it, and you’re suddenly facing elimination in Game 6. Basically, Game 5 decides whether you’re playing to finish the series or just to survive it. (nhl.com) ### Does Buffalo have the edge now? Maybe emotionally, yes. Structurally, it’s still close. Montreal already showed it can dictate pace when Buffalo gets careless, and the Canadiens still own the most lopsided win of the series — a 6-2 Game 3 result after also taking Game 2 by four goals. But Buffalo just proved it can absorb pressure, make lineup changes, and win on the road when it has to. That is the kind of result that can change how both benches feel heading into the next one. (nhl.com) ### What should you watch Thursday? Watch Buffalo’s puck management first. That was the problem in the losses and the stress point even in the win. Watch whether Montreal keeps drawing penalties, too, because seven Buffalo kills in one night is not a sustainable formula. And watch the young players — Benson for Buffalo, Montreal’s skill group around Caufield and Nick Suzuki for the Canadiens — because this series keeps turning when one side’s speed starts tilting the ice. (nhl.com) ### Bottom line? This stopped being a Montreal-controlled series the second Buffalo escaped Game 4. Now it’s best-of-three, with Game 5 in Buffalo and the pressure finally shared. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2)