Canadiens score five in Game 3 to even Sabres series 1-1

Montreal didn’t just win Game 3. The Canadiens grabbed control of the series. Sunday night at Bell Centre, they beat the Sabres 6-2 and turned what had been a tied second-round matchup into a 2-1 Montreal lead. That matters because this wasn’t some weird coin-flip game. Montreal fell behind early, settled in, then spent most of the night looking faster, sharper, and way more dangerous in the middle of the ice. ### What actually happened in Game 3? Buffalo got the first punch from Tage Thompson, who scored early and ended his seven-game goal drought. But Montreal answered with four straight goals and never really gave the game back. The final was 6-2, and the shot count leaned Montreal too — 36-28. ### Who drove the win? (nhl.com) Alex Newhook was the headline again. He scored twice for the second straight game, which is the kind of secondary scoring swing that changes a playoff series fast. Cole Caufield added his second goal of the postseason, and Montreal kept getting contributions beyond its top line. That’s a huge deal because Buffalo’s defensive plan gets much harder if the danger isn’t coming from just one place. (nhl.com) ### Why does Newhook matter so much here? Because playoff series usually tighten around stars. If the other team’s depth starts beating you, your matchups break. That’s basically what’s happening to Buffalo right now. Newhook has scored twice in back-to-back games, and Montreal has now won two straight after dropping the opener. The series didn’t just swing — it swung on a player Buffalo hasn’t contained. (nhl.com) ### Was this another bad Sabres defensive night? Pretty much, yes. Buffalo’s own postgame takeaway was blunt — the Sabres had stretches where they looked like themselves, but not nearly often enough. That tracks with the game flow. They opened well, then let Montreal build speed through the neutral zone and cash in around the slot. Once the Canadiens got rolling, Buffalo spent too much of the night chasing. (nhl.com) ### What about Jakub Dobes? He wasn’t the story the way the preliminary chatter suggested, but he was still part of the reason Montreal stayed in control. Dobes got a loud ovation from Bell Centre after the win, which tells you how fans felt about his playoff run overall. In this game, the bigger story was the support in front of him — six goals, cleaner structure, and long stretches where Montreal dictated play. (nhl.com) ### So what changed in the series? Home ice, momentum, and pressure. Buffalo left the first two games with the series tied 1-1 and a chance to reclaim control on the road. Instead, Montreal backed up its Game 2 blowout with another convincing win. The Sabres are now trailing 2-1, and Game 4 is also in Montreal on Tuesday, May 12. (nhl.com) ### What does Buffalo need to fix first? Consistency, more than anything. The Sabres can’t keep having decent openings followed by long loose stretches. Against a team that’s suddenly finishing chances in waves, one bad patch becomes two goals, then three, then the whole game tilts. That was the shape of Game 3. (msn.com) ### Bottom line This series is no longer about whether Montreal can hang around. The Canadiens already answered that. Now the question is whether Buffalo has a real counter before Tuesday, because a 3-1 deficit is a very different problem from a tied series. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2)