Canadiens rout Sabres 5-1

Montreal didn’t just win Game 2. Montreal grabbed the series back. The Canadiens beat the Sabres 5-1 on Friday night in Buffalo, evening this second-round matchup at one game apiece before it shifts to Montreal on Sunday. The big swing came early — two Montreal goals in the first 4:27 — and Buffalo spent the rest of the night chasing a game that never really slowed down for the Canadiens. Alex Newhook scored twice, Jakub Dobes turned away 29 of 30 shots, and the whole thing looked a lot more controlled than the score alone suggests. ### How did Montreal take over so fast? The Canadiens landed the first punch almost immediately. Newhook scored 1:36 into the game, then Mike Matheson made it 2-0 at 4:27. That matters because Buffalo had home ice, had won Game 1, and had the building behind it. Instead, Montreal flipped the mood in less than five minutes and forced the Sabres to play from behind all night. (espn.com) ### Why was Newhook the story? Because he gave Montreal exactly the kind of game you need on the road in the playoffs — fast start, second goal to stretch the lead, constant pressure. His second goal came at 4:47 of the second period for a 3-0 edge, which turned a good start into a real problem for Buffalo. When one forward scores twice in a low-margin playoff game, that usually becomes the hinge. Here, it absolutely did. (nhl.com) ### Did Buffalo have a pushback moment? A little, but not enough. Zach Benson scored late in the second period to cut it to 3-1, and that was the one stretch where Buffalo had a chance to make the third period tense. But Alexandre Carrier scored for Montreal at 3:54 of the third, and that basically shut the door. Nick Suzuki added an empty-netter later, which made the final score look like the kind of rout it had already become. (espn.com) ### How good was Dobes? Very good, and maybe more important than the five goals. Buffalo actually put 30 shots on net, so this wasn’t one of those games where the goalie had nothing to do. Dobes stopped 29 and never let the Sabres string together the kind of momentum that can erase an early deficit in a playoff building. That’s the quiet part of a road win like this — the scorer gets the headlines, but the goalie keeps the game from turning. (nhl.com) ### What about the anthem moment? That happened again in Buffalo, and it’s part of why this series has gotten extra attention. Sabres fans had already made news earlier in the playoffs when they finished “O Canada” after microphone trouble during the anthem. It added a weirdly warm cross-border wrinkle to a series that otherwise looks nasty and physical on the ice. But once the puck dropped Friday, the story was much simpler — Montreal was sharper. (nhl.com) ### Why does 1-1 matter so much? Because 2-0 is a cliff, especially when the lower-seeded team opens on the road. NHL preview material for Game 2 noted that teams falling behind 2-0 in a best-of-7 series have historically come back only a small fraction of the time. Montreal avoided that hole, stole back momentum, and now gets the next game at home with the series reset. (espn.com) ### What should you watch next? Game 3 is Sunday in Montreal, and now the pressure shifts. Buffalo lost the chance to take full control at home. Montreal proved Game 1 didn’t set the tone for the whole round. Basically, this is a new series now — but one that suddenly feels a lot more comfortable for the Canadiens. ### Bottom line (nhl.com) The Canadiens didn’t just answer Buffalo. They changed the shape of the series — with an early punch, a two-goal night from Newhook, and a calm road game from Dobes behind them. (espn.com 1) (espn.com 2)