Alex Newhook posted his first two-goal postseason game for the Montreal Canadiens, who evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the host Buffalo Sabres on Friday thanks to a 5-1 victory in Game 2.
The Canadiens seized home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven set ahead of Game 3 in Montreal on Sunday.
Newhook now has three goals for the Habs this postseason, and Nick Suzuki added an empty-netter with 4:01 remaining to extend his goal-scoring streak to three games. Five of Montreal’s six defensemen got points as Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier netted their first goals these playoffs while Kaiden Guhle, Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson each registered an assist.
“I think as a group, we knew we needed a big effort tonight, a bounce-back, a bounce-forward game,” Newhook said. “When you get the lineup, you just try to supply some energy there early, and I just tried to carry that into the game. I think throughout the lineup, lot of good games. We were able to roll through our lines and deliver a pretty solid effort.”
Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes also rebounded from a subpar Game 1 performance, making 29 saves in the victory.
Zach Benson recorded his third playoff goal for the Sabres, with assists from Conor Timmins and Josh Doan.
Buffalo goaltender Alex Lyon endured his worst game of the playoffs as he gave up four goals on 27 shots.
The Canadiens needed just 96 seconds to take the lead with Newhook in the slot tipping Guhle’s shot past Lyon.
Less than three minutes later, Matheson doubled the Habs’ lead. Phillip Danault won the faceoff in the offensive zone and the puck went back to the defenseman, who found a lane and ripped a shot from the blue line that went in off the post.
Newhook, who entered Friday with just three goals in 40 Stanley Cup playoff games, netted his second of the night with 15:13 left in the second period. On a 2-on-2 with Evans, Newhook found a way to get past Rasmus Dahlin and beat Lyon, who could not glide back before the puck got to Newhook.
“I think three or four of the goals were just the result of bad puck play,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “You know, you can’t beat yourself. We beat ourselves, and we know we have to be better. That’s what we said after Game 1. It’s my job to make sure we get our minds in the right place, and I think we could have made a big difference on four of the goals, at least.”
Ruff also noted that Beck Malenstyn needed stitches on his hand from the contact he absorbed from a Jordan Greenway hit on Ivan Demidov. Malenstyn played a 1:41 shift to start the second period, and he did not return until there was 16:06 left in the game. Demidov returned halfway through the second period.
Buffalo managed to score in the final minute of the second, with Benson at the post to redirect Timmins’ shot from the right circle.
The Canadiens regained momentum less than four minutes into the third with Carrier getting the puck in the defensive zone off a Tage Thompson turnover and converting it into an unassisted goal that secured the victory.
–Field Level Media
