Buffalo Sabres vs. Montreal Canadiens Odds, Picks & Predictions - Game 6

In the lone game on the docket, the Buffalo Sabres are on the road as they travel to take on the Montreal Canadiens in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series Saturday night and we have you covered with our Sabres vs. Canadiens prediction. Buffalo took the series opener, prevailing 4-2 at home, May 6 to draw first blood in the series. The Canadiens squared things up with a 5-1 road triumph in Game 2 May 8. Montreal followed up with a 6-2 home win Sunday night in Game 3.

Buffalo evened things with a 3-2 road triumph in Game 4 Tuesday night.  The Canadiens doubled up the Sabres 6-3 on the road in a pivotal Game 5 for a 3-2 series advantage. Will the Sabres find a road win to force Game 7 or can the Canadiens finish things off on home ice? Let’s break down this Sabres vs. Canadiens matchup.

Sabres Looking for Goaltending Answer to Force Game 7

Buffalo was the hottest team in the league from mid-December to the end of the year. However, their goaltending has failed them in this series. Buffalo has given up at least five goals three times in this series and that has them on the brink of elimination.

In Game 5, Buffalo’s offense clicked early but was frozen over the final two periods, sending them to defeat. The Sabres faced an 11-9 deficit in shots in the opening period but were up 3-2 on the scoreboard after 20 minutes. Jason Zucker opened the scoring with his first of the playoffs at the 2:00 mark off assists from Jack Quinn and Connor Timmins. After Montreal knotted the score, Josh Doan gave Buffalo a 2-1 edge with his third of the postseason at 7:45. Owen Power drew the lone assist on the goal. Following another Canadiens goal to knot the game, Konsta Helenius gave Buffalo the lead again with his first goal of the playoffs at 10:15. Mattias Samuelsson and Rasmus Dahlin drew the assists on that marker.

In the second period, Buffalo lost the shot battle 12-7 and the scoreboard battle 3-0 to trail 5-3 at the second intermission. The third period saw the Sabres own a 20-3 shot edge but outscored 1-0 to take the loss. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 18 saves on 23 shots before getting pulled after two periods. Alex Lyon stopped two of three in relief for the Sabres, who held a 36-26 advantage in shots, in the loss. Lyon (4-3-0, 2.25 GAA, .917 save percentage) is expected between the pipes here.

Canadiens Seeking to Advance to Eastern Conference Finals

Montreal survived a rocky first period on the road in Game 5 and took control in the latter stages of the contest. That gave the Canadiens a chance to close things out on home ice here and potentially avoid a trip back to Buffalo.

The Canadiens owned an 11-9 advantage in shots on goal in the opening period but trailed 3-2 on the scoreboard at the first intermission. After giving up the game’s first goal, Cole Caufield leveled the score with his fourth of the playoffs at 6:31. The assists on that goal went to Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky. Buffalo regained the lead only to see Montreal tie the game nine seconds later on Alexandre Texier’s third goal of the playoffs at 7:54. Alexandre Carrier and Phillip Danault drew assists on that goal. Montreal saw Buffalo score again less than three minutes later to take the lead to the dressing room.

In the second period, Montreal held a 12-7 advantage in shots and a 3-0 margin on the scoreboard for a 5-3 lead after 40 minutes. Josh Anderson leveled the score with his third goal of the playoffs at 8:01. Lane Hutson and Danault drew the assists on that marker. Jake Evans gave the Canadiens their first lead of the night with his first of the playoffs at 16:15. Ivan Demidov and Alex Newhook drew the assists on the goal. Suzuki made it a 5-3 game with a power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, at 17:33. Slafkovsky and Hutson drew the assists on the marker. The third period saw Montreal outshot 20-3 but they had the lone goal of the stanza, securing the win. Demidov tallied his first of the playoffs, on the power play, at 3:32. Slafkovsky and Suzuki drew the assists on that goal.

Jakub Dobes stopped 33 shots for Montreal, who faced a 36-26 disadvantage in shots, in the win. Dobes (7-5-0, 2.28 GAA, .914 save percentage) is the projected starter in goal for the Canadiens here.

Stats to Know

Buffalo is:

• 7th in the league in the postseason in scoring offense (3.00 goals per game)
• 9th in goals against (3.00)
• 11th in power play success (14.3%)
• 12th in penalty killing (78.9%)

Montreal is:

• 6th in the league in the postseason in scoring offense (3.08 goals per game)
• 3rd in goals against (2.33 goals per game)
• 6th in power play success (22.9%)
• 13th in penalty killing (78.7%)

Sabres vs. Canadiens Prediction

For all Buffalo’s success in snapping what was the league’s longest active playoff drought, they’ve had problems in the playoffs. The one good thing for the Sabres is that this game is on the road at the Bell Centre. Buffalo is 4-1 on the road in the postseason but just 2-4 at the KeyBank Center. Montreal has all the momentum in the world with two straight wins and a 3-2 series lead. The problem is, we’ve seen the Canadiens get complacent when they lead a series. They led Tampa Bay 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 in the opening round, only to lose the next game each time. In this series, they led two games to one only only to drop Game 4. Montreal may find their killer instinct but it comes in Game 7. Take the Sabres on the road here.

Our Prediction: Sabres (+145, DraftKings)

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