Goalie change, offensive outburst keep Buffalo Sabres alive

Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said his players finally got going at the most crucial time, avoiding elimination against the Montreal Canadiens with an emphatic seven-goal rally for an 8-3 win in Game 6 on Saturday night.

Game 7 is set for Monday night in Buffalo. The winner advances to the Eastern Conference finals to face the Carolina Hurricanes, who last played May 9 when they completed a sweep over Philadelphia.

Ruff saw “indecision” from his team in its losses against Montreal. “There was slowness in our game. I told the team I’d rather they made a mistake ‘going’ than ‘not going,'” he said. “So, we just used this expression this morning: ‘J.F.G.’ And you can figure out what that is.”

What got the Sabers going was an unwavering confidence that they could come back, strong performances from their star players and a bold goaltending change in the first period.

“I felt like the bench was alive the whole game. We believed from the beginning,” Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin said. “Then, Ukko came in and gave us a boost.”

Goaltender Alex Lyon started in Game 6 after replacing Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in Game 5. But Lyon gave up three goals on the only four shots he faced. Luukkonen replaced Lyon just 10:14 into the game, with the Sabres trailing 3-1. He saved all 17 shots he faced to force a Game 7.

“He gave us a great effort,” Ruff said. “In a game like this, it just felt like Al wasn’t seeing it. Turned to UPL to see if he can help us out, and he did. He made four or five really good saves and kept them off the board.”

While Luukkonen gave the Sabres the goaltending they needed, Buffalo’s star players also located their swagger at the right time.

Dahlin had a goal and four assists in the victory. The captain tied the franchise record for points in a playoff game with five, a mark shared by Derek Roy in 2006 and John Tucker in 1988.

“Five points is pretty good,” Luukkonen said. “It’s an elimination game for us, and our captain steps up, and that’s how you lead the team.”

Center Tage Thompson, who was criticized for going scoreless in three of the series’ previous five games, had a goal and three assists in the win.

“I’m very proud of our guys. We talked this morning about how everybody needs to play their best game. Our defining moment is this game tonight,” said Ruff, who shuffled his lines before Game 6 to help spark Buffalo’s offense.

The Canadiens’ biggest offensive stars went nearly dormant, needing a win to advance to the conference final. Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson picked up assists on Ivan Demidov’s power-play goal but were otherwise quiet. Nick Suzuki, who shared the team lead in points with Hutson (12), was scoreless. Rookie goalie Jakub Dobes, who had been Montreal’s backbone during this postseason run, was pulled in the third period after giving up six goals on 33 shots. Rookie Jacob Fowler finished the game.

“I feel like we’ve been good at bouncing forward, and that’s what we intend to do. Wasn’t our best tonight,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “I just feel when you bounce back, you come back to where you were. Bounce forward, and you’re actually further than where you were. Physics.”

After Dahlin gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead just 32 seconds into the game — the fifth time Buffalo scored first in the series — Montreal scored on three of the four shots that Lyon faced before getting pulled. Defenseman Arber Xhekaj, who scored one goal in 65 regular-season games, beat Lyon from long distance 1:08 after Dahlin’s goal.

Demidov netted his second of the series on the power play to make it 2-1. Jake Evans scored a short-handed goal to make it 3-1, chasing Lyon after just 10:14 in Game 6.

Lyon won Game 1 against Montreal but gave up nine goals in losing the next two games. Luukkonen replaced Lyon to start Game 4, making 26 saves in the win. But Luukkonen was pulled from Game 5 in Buffalo after two periods, giving up five goals on 23 shots. Ruff went back to Lyon in Game 6, but Luukkonen was back in the crease midway through the first period.

Though the goalie change helped spark the Sabres, Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson’s double-minor penalty opened the door for a Buffalo rally. Jason Zucker scored his second of the playoffs on the power play to cut the lead to 3-2 before the first intermission.

The Sabres scored seven straight goals to win Game 6. Zach Benson tied the score with a great individual effort one minute into the second period, as the puck trickled through Dobes, and Benson swooped around from behind the net to score.

Forward Jack Quinn broke the tie with a power-play goal at 10:54 of the second period, and then rookie forward Konsta Helenius — playing in his 12th NHL game — netted his second of the postseason to extend the lead to 5-3.

Quinn struck again on the power play in the third period, before Thompson scored his fifth of the playoffs into an empty net. Defenseman Zach Metsa sealed the win with another power-play goal to make it 8-3 in the 27-year-old’s playoff debut. It was the Sabres’ fourth power-play goal in Game 6, giving Buffalo nine goals with the man advantage in the series.

It was the Sabres’ fifth win in six road playoff games.

Home teams own a 118-84 (.584) advantage in the 202 all time Game 7s in the playoffs. But Montreal is 5-2 in seven road games this postseason and eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in a Game 7 on the road in the first round. Buffalo is 2-4 at home, having lost twice to Montreal in their series.

“We’re in the process of seeing if we can play here on Monday,” Ruff said of Bell Centre after Game 6, drawing laughs.

The Sabres’ coach said his staff will “change up what we’ve done at home” ahead of Game 7. That could include keeping the players away from the rink until that game, which is something Buffalo did before Game 6.

“I’m going to say there’s a 90% chance you won’t see us at the rink for the next day and a half until game time,” he said.