Sabres take 1-0 lead over Canadiens with 4-2 Game 1 win at KeyBank Center

Buffalo got the exact kind of opener it wanted — not a track meet, not a miracle comeback, just a controlled 4-2 win that put Montreal behind in the series right away. The big shift was special teams. Buffalo’s power play, which had looked shaky in the first round, scored twice and gave the Sabres a cleaner path through a game that otherwise felt pretty even. Montreal had its moments, but Buffalo kept answering and never let the game tilt for long. ### How did this game turn so fast? Montreal actually struck first — Nick Suzuki scored on the power play 44 seconds into the game. But Buffalo answered with two first-period goals of its own, from Ryan McLeod on the power play and Josh Doan at even strength. That quick reset mattered because it erased. ### Why were Doan and McLeod such a big deal? Because they were all over the swing moments. McLeod had a goal and an assist. Doan had a goal and an assist too. They were involved in Buffalo’s first two goals, and that gave the Sabres something playoff teams need in Round 2 — secondary drivers, not just deciding games. ### What changed on the power play? Basically, Buffalo stopped making the power play feel like a liability. One recap noted the Sabres had gone 1-for-24 on the man advantage in the previous series against Boston. In Game 1 against Montreal, they scored twice with the extra skater — McLeod in the first period. You can't dominate every night, but it has to punish mistakes often enough that the other team gets nervous about taking penalties. ### Where did Montreal lose control? The Canadiens never got buried, but they kept falling one answer short. Kirby Dach made it 3-2 early in the second period, which should have been Montreal’s chance to really push. Instead, Buffalo answered again with Byram’s power-play goal and restored the two-goal lead before momentum could build. ### Was this a one-line win? No — and that is probably the most encouraging thing for Buffalo. Jordan Greenway scored the game-winner, Doan and McLeod drove offense, and Byram added the insurance goal. Lindy Ruff’s postgame point was basically that he could trust every line, and Game 1 backed that up. Buffalo did not need one guy to drag it over the line. ### What does Montreal need to fix? The first thing is discipline, because Buffalo’s power play just changed the math of the series. The second is game state. Montreal can’t keep scoring and then immediately giving the night back. The Canadiens were close enough on the scoreboard, but the flow never really belonged to them after Buffalo’s first push. ### So what matters going into Game 2? Game 1 did not prove Buffalo is running away with the series. But it did show the Sabres may have solved the exact weakness that looked most dangerous a round ago. If that power play stays alive, Montreal has a much bigger problem than just dropping the opener.