Benson's birthday goal lifts Sabres past Canadiens, series tied 2-2

Buffalo’s young core changed the series in a rink that had been leaning Montreal’s way. Zach Benson scored the go-ahead goal on a power play at 4:41 of the third period, and the Sabres held on for a 3-2 win over the Canadiens on Tuesday night at Bell Centre to even their Eastern Conference semifinal at two games apiece.

The winning sequence came after Josh Doan slipped Benson a pass that Benson kicked to his stick before lifting a backhander past Jakub Dobes. Doan finished with two assists, and Buffalo’s second power-play goal of the night was the difference in a game that had been tense, chippy and full of momentum swings. Benson’s goal also came on his 21st birthday, but the larger story was Buffalo’s ability to execute with the man advantage when Montreal could not.

That was the cleanest separation between the clubs. Buffalo scored twice on four power-play chances, while Montreal went 1-for-7 and failed to cash in on a four-minute opportunity late in the second period. In a series that had started to tilt after Buffalo was outscored 11-3 in Games 2 and 3 combined, the Sabres answered with a more composed road effort and turned special teams into the hinge point of the night.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gave Buffalo the stability it needed. Reinserted in goal after Alex Lyon had started the previous two games, Luukkonen made 28 saves in his first action since being pulled in Game 2 of the first round against Boston. He absorbed Montreal pressure when the Canadiens pushed for a tying goal late, helping Buffalo survive a frantic finish and return home with the series level.

Buffalo got goals from Mattias Samuelsson, Tage Thompson and Benson. Samuelsson opened the scoring, Thompson tied it in the second period on a strange bounce that went off the glass and in off Dobes’ leg, and Benson delivered the final edge. Montreal answered through Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield, but the Canadiens could not solve Buffalo’s penalty kill often enough or match the Sabres’ poise after the midpoint of the game.

Game 5 is Thursday night in Buffalo at 7 p.m. ET. If necessary, Game 6 will be Saturday night in Montreal at 8 p.m. ET, and Game 7 would return to Buffalo on Monday, May 18. Carolina has already reached the Eastern Conference final by sweeping Philadelphia 4-0, leaving the winner of this series to face a fresh, waiting opponent.