For the first time in these playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens have won back-to-back games after a 6-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. It is not only the fact that the Canadiens won consecutively but did so in decisive fashion as they have now outscored the Sabres 11-3 over the past two games.
One of the big reasons the Canadiens have been able to get to this point in the playoffs is due to their depth stepping up and making plays. They certainly got that in this game, but also saw their stars emerge to make huge plays.
When looking back at Game 3, these are four performances that stood out for the Montreal Canadiens against the Buffalo Sabres.
Alex Newhook
Alex Newhook continues to deliver for this team as he had two goals, a pivotal one early to tie it at one, and then late when he drew a penalty on an empty-net that resulted in a goal instead of a penalty shot.
After only 13 goals during the regular season, Newhook now has seven in the playoffs and four in just the past two games.
The goals are going to draw the headlines, but Newhook is doing a lot of little things that have helped the Canadiens get this series lead. He finished the game second on the team in hits with four, won 63% of his faceoffs, and led the forwards in penalty kill minutes at 3:57.
It has been an incredible run in the playoffs for Alex Newhook, and the Montreal Canadiens can only hope he continues to play at this level.
Joe Veleno
The Montreal Canadiens elected to get Joe Veleno in the lineup for this series against the Buffalo Sabres, and he delivered an excellent game on Sunday night. Veleno finished the game with his first career playoff point, led the team in hits with five, and won all five of his faceoffs.
One of the things that stands out with the Canadiens during these playoffs is the depth they have to effectively match up against their opponents. In the series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Martin St. Louis turned to Brendan Gallagher, and that was a big reason that they won two of the final three games.
In this series, it was Joe Veleno who brought the physicality needed on the fourth line with 11 hits over the three games in this series, but he is now producing in the offensive zone with his assist on the Zachary Bolduc goal.
Cole Caufield
Finally, Cole Caufield scored a goal. It wasn't a 5v5 goal but a goal nonetheless. The hope is that this is a sign of things to come for the Canadiens' top goal scorer, and the goals will now start to follow.
Caufield would break the 1-1 tie in the second period with a power play goal after a beautiful move by Lane Hutson to set him up for a wide-open net. It would be Caufield's second goal of the playoffs and first since Game 4 of the series against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In addition to the goal, he added an assist on the power play goal by Juraj Slafkovsky, and it was his first multi-point game since Game 1 of the Lightning series, when he had two assists.
Up to this point, it has been a frustrating playoffs for Cole Caufield, but fortunately, the Canadiens have gotten production up and down the roster. If Caufield can finally break out after this goal, Montreal has a great chance of getting past Buffalo and onto the Eastern Conference Finals.
Jakub Dobes
One of the reasons that the Canadiens have been able to get to this point while Cole Caufield has struggled to score is because of Jakub Dobes. The Canadiens' rookie goaltender continues to dominate the crease and give Montreal a chance to win every night.
In Game 3, it was no different as he would stop 26 of 28 shots, with the two goals given up being a weird rebound off the back boards that Tage Thompson was waiting right there to finish. The other goal was a power play goal that Dobes was shielded and unable to see Rasmus Dahlin shooting.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Dobes had an Expected Goals Against of 4.33, which takes into account the number of shots he faced and the quality of the shots. The fact that he finished the night allowing only two shows how much of an impact he made in this game.
These were not the only four players who stood out, as Jake Evans had two assists, Nick Suzuki added another assist, and Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first goal since Game 1. It was a collective team effort, but these four players deserve to be recognized for what they did in the Canadiens 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
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