Sabres Favored to Beat Canadiens in NHL Playoff Opener

The Buffalo Sabres face the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the NHL playoffs. The Sabres are favored to win the opener after a strong first-round performance against the Boston Bruins.

Montreal beat Tampa Bay in seven games in the first round. The teams alternated wins, and no game was decided by more than one goal. Four games went to overtime. The Canadiens scored 3.40 goals per game and allowed 3.06 during the regular season. They allowed more shots than they took. Montreal went 24-9-8 on the road and won three road games against Tampa Bay. Goalie Jakub Dobes started all seven games, posting a .923 save percentage in the postseason after a .901 mark in the regular season with a 2.78 goals-against average over 29-10-4.

Buffalo finished the regular season at 50-23-9 and went 26-10-5 at home. The Sabres defeated Boston in six games, scoring 20 goals total. They won three games by at least two goals and lost Game 2 by 4-2 and Game 5 by 2-1, both at home. The Sabres won their first playoff game in 15 years with a third-period comeback against Boston.

Buffalo pulled starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after two games and turned to Alex Lyon. Lyon allowed five goals in five games and stopped all seven shots in relief of Luukkonen in Game 2. The Sabres offense has clicked, but they have struggled at home in losses.

Montreal appears fatigued after the grueling series. Buffalo enters with momentum from its goalie change and scoring.