Zach Benson’s two assists and Alex Lyon’s steady performance helped the Sabres open their second-round series with a 4-2 win over the Montréal Canadiens on Wednesday night at KeyBank Center.
Buffalo’s fans packed the building, with more than 19,000 on hand and roaring from start to finish as the Sabres grabbed a 1-0 series lead.
The Sabres struck first when a Canadiens turnover outside the blue line turned into a 2-on-1. Lane Hutson lost his footing while trying to play the puck, sending Zach Benson and Josh Doan in alone. Benson fed Doan, who beat Jakub Dobes at 4:31 for the 1-0 lead.
Benson was involved again on Buffalo’s second goal, helping set up a Ryan McLeod power-play marker at 13:26. Benson worked the puck to the front of the net, and McLeod finished from the doorstep to make it 2-0.
Montreal answered late in the first period. Juraj Slafkovsky flipped the puck toward the crease and Nick Suzuki jammed it past Lyon on the power play at 19:16 to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Canadiens had a chance to carry that momentum into the second period, but Buffalo quickly pushed back. Jordan Greenway restored the two-goal cushion at 3:32 with his first goal of the playoffs.
Bowen Byram made it 4-1 on the power play at 9:01, firing a wrist shot from between the circles after McLeod knocked down a clearing attempt and left the puck for him.
Kirby Dach gave Montreal life again at 16:31 of the second, finishing a rebound with a falling backhand to make it 4-2.
That was as close as the Canadiens got. Lyon shut the door the rest of the way, finishing with 26 saves on 28 shots.
The teams meet again Friday night at KeyBank Center.
