One of the most historic franchises in sports, the Montreal Canadiens, rolled into Buffalo to kick off the second round of the NHL playoffs, and a sea of red followed suit from north of the border. However, it was the Blue and Gold who came away with the 4-2 win to open the series.
When asking several fans wearing Montreal jerseys where they came from, the answers were widespread. Toronto, Oakville, Mississauga, Burlington, Hamilton, and, of course, Montreal. One of those fans from Montreal was Jake Schlesinger, who said he wanted to come help the Canadiens take over KeyBank Center.
"We came here this morning from Montreal, we drove about six hours, came to watch the Habs game. Hopefully, we can take over the arena a little bit. It looks like a lot of red here," said Schlesinger.
Jake Silver, also from Montreal, said he enjoys the environment in Buffalo, but in his opinion, the playoff hockey culture in Buffalo doesn't compare to Montreal at the Bell Centre.
“We were outside at the tailgate area type of thing, it’s a lot of people. A lot of guys are getting excited, but in Montreal, you have like 20,000 getting ready; it’s a different environment. But I like the arena here, it is nice,” said Silver.
For some fans, the experience wasn't just about taking over the arena; it was an opportunity for a family to bond.
Among the many travelers in attendance from Canada was Paul and Jacob Lahaie, a father and son from Hamilton. They attended the game not only to cheer on the Canadiens but to create lasting family memories.
“Even when we were driving down, he was telling me the stories about how the last time he came to a playoff game when he was a young kid, to share this playoff moment is special, too,” said Jacob.
Jacob's father, Paul, said: “It’s very good because you only get so many opportunities to have something to talk about in the future. This will be a moment. He knows I am a big Habs fan.”
But the Sabres' faithful was still plenty loud and had plenty to cheer about from start to finish.
As for the game itself, Buffalo controlled the play through all three periods.
In the first period, the Sabres scored 4:31 into the game when Josh Doan tapped in a feed from Zach Benson.
The building erupted when Ryan McLeod put Buffalo up 2-0 at 13:26 into the first.
Montreal was able to temporarily silence the crowd after Nick Suzuki scored on a Montreal power play to trim the Buffalo lead to 2-1.
In the second period, Jordan Greenway gave Buffalo the two-goal lead again, scoring 3:32 into the period. Shortly after, Montreal failed to clear the zone. Buffalo defenseman Bowen Byram sniped one home, utilizing a screen in front to make it 4-1 Sabres.
Late in the second, Montreal scored off a Buffalo turnover. Kirby Dach had a highlight goal on a second-effort rebound to beat Alex Lyon, which made it 4-2 Buffalo.
Despite being outshot 28-16 — 11-1 in the third period — the Sabres held off Montreal 4-2 to take a 1-0 series lead.
Before the series, Sabres Head Coach Lindy Ruff said that the team needs to improve in two areas: playing better at home and capitalizing on the powerplay. They did both on Monday night. Buffalo went 2 for 3 on the powerplay.
"I think we took advantage of some good breaks that made a couple of good plays. They had great net front presence on the [Bowen] Byram goal from the point," Ruff added, "There are a lot of areas of the power play that were a lot better.”
Sabres forward Jordan Greenway, an unlikely candidate for the postgame podium, had himself a memorable game with a second-period goal. Lindy Ruff mentioned recently that Greenway scored a few goals in practice. After their win on Monday night, Greenway was asked whether he saw this coming, given his supposive success in practice. Greenway jokingly responded, "I scored three goals in practice? That's the craziest thing," Greenway added, "Did I see this coming? Not because I scored three goals in practice. Some days I have like eight." Greenway said that as the team plays more games, he finds that he can take advantage of the reps and improve his game. Jordan returned to the lineup at the beginning of April and has missed significant time after two sports hernia surgeries.
When guys up and down the lineup score goals, it makes these games even more memorable. Hockey in Western New York has been one of the major topics of the town. Sabres forward Zach Benson called the environment and the current buzz around the team unbelievable.
“It's truly unbelievable. I mean, you know, this is one of the best hockey cities in the world, obviously. And it's so electric right now, and it's so fun to play in front of our fans every night and play the way we are. So, yeah, that's truly the one word I would use is unbelievable.”
Game 2 at KeyBank Center is Friday at 7 p.m.
