Montreal routs Buffalo 5-1 to even series behind Newhook's two goals

Montreal did more than even the series in Buffalo. It absorbed the opening punch from the Sabres, struck first and never let the game settle into Buffalo’s pace, rolling to a 5-1 win at KeyBank Center to pull the Eastern Conference second-round matchup level at 1-1.

Alex Newhook set the tone at 1:36 of the first period, redirecting Kaiden Guhle’s pass for Montreal’s first goal. Mike Matheson made it 2-0 at 4:27, snapping a shot from the left point after Phillip Danault won the faceoff. The Canadiens were up and running before Buffalo could find its footing, and the early burst forced the Sabres into catch-up mode for the rest of the night.

Newhook struck again at 4:47 of the second period, just four seconds after a Buffalo power play expired, with Jake Evans and Noah Dobson credited with assists. Zach Benson got Buffalo on the board late in the second, scoring at 19:22, but the Sabres never converted that goal into momentum. Alexandre Carrier added a third-period insurance marker at 3:54, and Nick Suzuki finished it with an empty-net goal at 15:59.

The win carried a larger message for Montreal. Cole Caufield’s point drought reached five games and Juraj Slafkovsky had just one assist in his last eight outings, yet the Canadiens still produced five goals. That is the kind of response that makes this series feel newly competitive, not merely tied. Newhook had called the matchup a “bounce-back, bounce-forward game” after Montreal’s 4-2 loss in Game 1, and the Canadiens delivered exactly that kind of turn.

Jakub Dobes backed up the attack with 29 saves, giving Montreal another steady playoff performance from a rookie who has become part of the story. With his postseason work, Dobes became the third rookie goalie in Canadiens history since 1986 with at least five playoff wins, joining Patrick Roy and Carey Price. He now has six career playoff victories, tying Gerry McNeil for seventh on Montreal’s all-time rookie list.

The loss left Buffalo searching for answers. Coach Lindy Ruff said several goals came from bad puck play and that the Sabres beat themselves. Tage Thompson called the team “sloppy,” and captain Rasmus Dahlin said the effort was “awful” and “not acceptable.” The series now shifts to Montreal for Game 3 on Sunday at Bell Centre, where the winner will seize the kind of advantage that has historically carried weight in tied best-of-seven series.