4 takeaways from the Buffalo Sabres season-saving 8-3 win in Game 6 against Montreal

The Buffalo Sabres were entering Game 6 in uncharted territory as they were facing an elimination game for the first time in these playoffs. However, a win on Saturday night would bring the series back to Buffalo for a Game 7.

Early in this game, it did not look like the Sabres would be playing at KeyBank Center again, as the Canadiens would score three straight after Rasmus Dahlin scored the first goal of the game. However, it would be all Buffalo from that point, and they would score seven straight goals to win 8-3 and force a Game 7.

These are four takeaways for the Buffalo Sabres from the game on Saturday night.

Alex Lyon allows three goals on four shots before being replaced

The Buffalo Sabres were going to have to make a decision in net going into Game 6 of whether to go with Alex Lyon or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Unfortunately, there was no clear answer as both goalies have struggled as of late, with Lyon giving up nine goals combined in Game 2 and Game 3.

The Sabres made the move back to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for Game 4, and that helped them win 3-2 before struggling in Game 5. He would give up five goals before being replaced by Lyon at the start of the third period.

It would be Lyon who would get the start in Game 6, but his night was over really quickly as he allowed three goals on four shots. Lyon would give up one even-strength goal, one power-play goal, and one short-handed goal.

The Sabres would make a switch to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen at that point, and he delivered an excellent performance that helped them get back in this game and secure the win. He finished stopping all 16 shots he faced and is now in line to start Game 7.

Buffalo Sabres finally get their expected top line together and it produces

Entering the regular season, the Sabres were expected to have a top line of Zach Benson, Josh Norris, and Tage Thompson based on what they had shown in the preseason and training camp.

Unfortunately, they never got a chance to really see what they could do as Benson suffered an injury in practice that forced him to miss a few games, and by the time he was ready to return, Norris was already out with an injury himself. Once everyone was healthy, it was already well into the season, and the lines were pretty well set.

Before Game 6, these three combined to have only 31 minutes of ice time during the regular season, so they didn’t have much time together, but it didn’t matter as they looked excellent against the Canadiens. These three together as a line would finish with seven scoring chances to the Canadiens one and the best Corsi For % of all the Sabres lines at 73%, according to Natural Stat Trick.

It was certainly a risk for Ruff to go with this group, with them not playing much together at all this season, but it was a huge boost and should continue using this line in Game 7.

Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson lead by example when Sabres need it most

The Buffalo Sabres had their back against the wall and were facing elimination, and these are the games teams need their leaders to step up and lead by example. In this game, both Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson answered the call as they combined for nine points, with each scoring a goal while Dahlin had four assists and Thompson had three.

The Sabres captain tried to set the tone early and would score the game’s first goal about 30 seconds into the game. It would be the fifth time in six games that the Sabres would score first, but unfortunately, the Canadiens answered quickly to kill any momentum the Sabres had at that point in the game.

Dahlin and Thompson’s play in the offensive zone was excellent, and the deciding factor in this game, but what was equally important was that they didn’t make big mistakes as they had in prior games. For the first time since Game 3, Thompson would not take any penalties, while Dahlin would be called for one; it was a questionable call.

The goal of this game was to live to play another game, and the Sabres were able to do that with the win. They are going to need another performance like this one from Dahlin and Thompson if they hope to win the series.

Jack Quinn delivers on the power play with two goals

The Sabres’ power play, surprisingly, has been pretty good for most of the series, and that was the case once again in Game 6 as they converted three of five power play chances.

It would be Jack Quinn leading the way for this unit, as he would score twice. The goals were important to the outcome of the game, but also were a milestone for Quinn as it would be his first playoff goal in his career.

The Sabres made some significant changes in this series to their power play unit after Game 2, when they went 0-for-5 by moving Josh Doan and Zach Benson to the top unit with Dahlin, Thompson, and Quinn. It has been the right move as they now have seven power play goals on 14 opportunities over the past four games.

It was the first time in 19 years that the Buffalo Sabres would win on the road when facing elimination, dating back to 2007 when they won in Game 4 against the Ottawa Senators to avoid a sweep. They now return to Buffalo for Game 7 with a chance to secure a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.

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