Ivan Demidov scored his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal and had an assist, and Juraj Slafkovsky had three assists for Montreal, which is the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division. Phillip Danault and Lane Hutson each had two assists, and Jakub Dobes made 33 saves.
Jason Zucker, Josh Doan and Konsta Helenius scored for Buffalo, the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic.
“They pushed harder than we did,” Sabres forward Alex Tuch said. “We gave them opportunities and chances, and on ours we didn’t bear down, and not the best puck play by us. And, yeah, we got outworked.”
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed five goals on 23 shots before being replaced at the start of the third period by Lyon, who made two saves.
“There’s nothing (Luukkonen) could’ve done on the first goal. There’s nothing he could’ve done on the second goal,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think the (fourth) goal that went in from a real tough angle, I think that’s one that he would want back. So, if I would’ve made a decision, would it have made a difference? Possibly. But all year, we haven’t made it about our goaltender, and we’re not gonna make it about our goaltender now.”
The teams combined for five goals in the opening 10:15.
Zucker gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 2:00 of the first period. Jack Quinn put a wrist shot towards net from above the left face-off circle, and the puck deflected off Zucker’s right skate and then off Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson in front before going into the net. It was Zucker’s first playoff goal since April 21, 2024, when he was a member of the Nashville Predators.
Cole Caufield tied it 1-1 at 6:31, redirecting Suzuki’s pass into an open net following a Buffalo turnover in the defensive zone.