A goaltending change and a fortunate bounce helped the Sabres even their second-round series. Buffalo beat the Canadiens 3-2 on Tuesday night at the Bell Centre, sending the best-of-seven back to Buffalo tied.
Trailing the quarterfinals 2-1 and outplayed for much of the first three games, the Sabres needed a lift. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen gave them one, stopping 28 of 30 shots to steady the ship and lead Buffalo to a crucial road win.
Matias Samuelsson opened the scoring 6:32 into the first period. Josh Norris sent a cross-ice pass to rushing Samuelsson, and the defenceman fired the puck past Jakub Dobes for a 1-0 lead.
Montreal responded midway through the first period. Alex Newhook stayed hot, scoring his fourth goal of the playoffs at 10:08 to tie the game.
Cole Caufield put the Canadiens in front with a power-play goal with 13 seconds left in the opening period.
Buffalo tied the game 7:00 into the second period. On the power play, Tage Thompson tried to send the puck around the boards, but it took a lucky carom off the side wall and slipped past Dobes to make it 2-2.
The Sabres took the lead for good 4:41 into the third period. Josh Doan slipped a pass to Zach Benson in front of the Montreal net, and the winger lifted the puck past Dobes for the game-winner.
The series shifts back to Buffalo for a pivotal Game 5 on Thursday night.
