Overview
- Buffalo opened the series with a 4-2 home win over Montreal on Wednesday, taking a 1-0 lead in the Eastern semifinal.
- Buffalo flipped a recent power-play slump with consecutive goals from Bowen Byram and Ryan McLeod, and Alex Lyon made 26 saves to improve to 4-1 since taking over in net.
- Josh Doan scored the opener for Buffalo, while Montreal answered through Nick Suzuki on the power play and Kirby Dach at even strength as Jakub Dobes allowed four on 16 shots.
- Anaheim evened its series 1-1 with a 3-1 win in Las Vegas, getting goals from Beckett Sennecke, Leo Carlsson and Jansen Harkins as Lukas Dostal stopped 23 shots before Mark Stone spoiled his shutout with 5.6 seconds left.
- The Sabres are playing their first second-round series since 2007, a long-awaited step that has stirred a loud response from Buffalo’s fan base ahead of Game 2 on Friday.