Here are my three takeaways from tonight’s 6-2 Montreal Canadiens Game 2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
1. Caufield capitalizes
You can only hold elite goal scorers off the scoresheet for so long before they eventually break through, and we saw that a couple of times in Game 3.
First it was Tage Thompson, who scored his first goal since Game 1 of the first round after looking dreadful through the first two games of this series.
That goal came after a soft play by Cole Caufield, who tried to flip the puck into the neutral zone but instead turned it over.
At that point, it looked like it might turn into another frustrating night for Caufield, who hasn’t exactly been getting much puck luck lately. Things didn’t improve when he missed a wide-open net from two feet away shortly after. After ringing a shot off the crossbar last game from the slot, it felt like more of the same was coming.
Then Lane Hutson decided to take over.
He danced through three Buffalo defenders and put the puck on a tee for Caufield, who buried the tap-in on the power play. Full credit to Hutson and the entire unit for recognizing the opportunity and attacking aggressively after Jordan Greenway broke his stick.
Maybe that goal gets Caufield rolling again. At the very least, it’ll stop being a talking point for a couple of days.
2. Hutson does it all, again
At this point, there’s not much left to say about Lane Hutson that hasn’t already been said. Every night, he’s Montreal’s best skater.
And when he’s off, like he was in Game 1, the Canadiens don’t really have a chance.
Buffalo had absolutely no answer for him in Game 3.
At times, it looked like he was playing with cheat codes, doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, every single shift.
Hutson was terrific in the first round against Tampa Bay, however the style of play in this Buffalo series is much more conducive for him to shine.
Time and space come at such a premium in the playoffs, especially against a heavy structured team like Tampa Bay.
But through the first three games against Buffalo, there’s been much more room for Hutson to operate and he’s absolutely feasting. Everyone already knows how dynamic he is offensively, but people in Montreal also understand how good he is in every situation. The way he’s playing in the playoffs is only going to elevate his reputation further.
There’s no reason he shouldn’t already be in the Norris Trophy conversation beyond the fact that he’s undersized. And playoff hockey hasn’t fazed him one bit.
As he continues to evolve, he’ll eventually draw tougher matchups and more responsibility against top players. But right now, everything offensively for Montreal starts with Hutson.
3. Make them pay on the power play
Montreal’s power play has been a little helter-skelter in the playoffs after such a strong regular season. That’s normal.
Goals are harder to come by in the postseason, games tighten up, and teams become much more familiar with their opponent’s tendencies over a seven-game series.
But when the opposition takes reckless penalties, especially the kind that could potentially injure someone, there’s no better response than making them pay on the scoreboard.
The perfect example was Juraj Slafkovsky’s goal that made it 4-1.
Beck Malenstyn crashed into Jakub Dobes at full speed without making much of an effort to stop or even slow down. It was only called a two-minute penalty, but it was still the type of play that leaves everyone holding their breath.
Those are the moments where you want revenge on the scoreboard, not with retaliation.
Buffalo is going to have to clean up its discipline because Montreal’s power play is heating up. The Canadiens scored twice with the man advantage tonight, and every time that unit stepped onto the ice, it felt dangerous.
