Canadiens rout Sabres 5-1; Newhook scores twice

Montreal’s night was basically over before Buffalo ever settled in. The Canadiens came out flying, scored twice in the first 4:27, and never gave the Sabres a clean path back into the game. Alex Newhook was the obvious headline — two goals, a ton of jump, and the kind of playoff energy that changes a room. But the bigger story was how completely Montreal flipped the script from Game 1. ### Why did this game feel so different? Because Montreal got the start it wanted and Buffalo got the start it couldn’t afford. Newhook tipped in the opener just 1:36 into the first period, then Mike Matheson made it 2-0 at 4:27 off a face-off win. In Game 1, Buffalo had grabbed control early. In Game 2, Montreal did the same thing right back — and that set the tone for everything else. (nhl.com) ### What did Newhook actually change? He gave Montreal secondary scoring, but also pace. His second goal came at 4:47 of the second period, four seconds after a Sabres power play expired, which made it 3-0 and crushed what could have been Buffalo’s best chance to swing the game. Turns out Newhook has been doing this at big moments lately — he also scored the series-clinching goal in Game 7 against Tampa Bay in the first round. (nhl.com) ### Was this just about scoring early? Not really. Montreal also defended cleanly behind the lead. Jakub Dobes stopped 29 of 30 shots, and Buffalo’s only goal came late in the second when Zach Benson finished at the back door to cut it to 3-1. The Sabres actually finished with 29 shots to Montreal’s 28, so this wasn’t a pure territorial wipeout. (nhl.com) It was more about mistake quality — Buffalo’s errors turned into dangerous chances, and Montreal cashed them. ### Where did Buffalo lose control? A lot of it was puck management. Lindy Ruff’s postgame point was blunt — several Montreal goals came from bad Sabres puck play. Alexandre Carrier’s third-period goal is the cleanest example. Tage Thompson lost an edge while controlling the puck near the Montreal blue line, Carrier jumped the turnover, and the Canadiens converted the rush chance to make it 4-1. (nhl.com) That’s the kind of mistake that feels survivable in a tie game, but deadly when you’re already chasing. ### Did Montreal lean on its stars? Some, but not in the usual top-heavy way. Nick Suzuki added an empty-netter, and Matheson scored from the point, but the game belonged to the supporting cast. That matters in a second-round series because the checking gets tighter and the obvious threats get swarmed. If Newhook, Carrier, Evans, and Dobes keep giving Montreal this kind of depth impact, Buffalo has a much bigger problem than one bad night. (nhl.com) ### What matters heading into Game 3? The series is even, but momentum isn’t the only thing that moved. The venue did too. Game 3 is in Montreal on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET, which means the Canadiens got exactly what they needed out of Buffalo — a split, home ice restored, and proof that their speed can tilt this matchup when they get ahead. (nhl.com) Buffalo still has the higher seed, but now it has to answer in a tougher building. ### So what’s the real takeaway? This looked less like a lucky bounce-back and more like a correction. Montreal played with more pace, cleaner structure, and way more edge. Buffalo can absolutely respond. But after Friday night, this series no longer looks like the Sabres dictating terms. It looks open. (nhl.com)