2026 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: Sabres' Game 4 Gambles Pay Off as Buffalo Overcomes Controversy

MONTRÉAL—After a pair of brutal games in a row in Games 2 and 3 against the Montréal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff knew it was time to do something to change their mojo. After all, Game 4 suddenly became a must-win situation and ugly losses require answers.

With a change in goal and swaps at forward and on defense, the Sabres were ready to change the discussion or go to the brink of elimination trying. In the end, the doom that followed Game 3 was washed away with a 3-2 win in Game 4 to even the series at two games apiece.

Ruff made the call to change goalies going from Alex Lyon to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. He swapped out veteran Sam Carrick for rookie Konsta Helenius who last played for the Sabres on February 5 and replaced Logan Stanley with Luke Schenn to stiffen up the blue line and penalty kill.

Bringing back the goalie who we last saw allowing a goal from center ice, a 20-year-old rookie and a long-time veteran who last played in the regular season finale could've looked like desperate risks for Ruff. Instead, he looks like the guy who wields the magic touch.

After the Sabres allowed 11 goals total over the previous two games, something that last happened to them in December in losses to the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames and proved to be the turning point of the Sabres season, Luukkonen got the call to put a stop to the Habs high-scoring ways. He did that and provided further proof of the Sabres 1A-1B approach in goal just might be the best thing for them with 28 saves in the win.

"He's been a great teammate," Ruff said. "He's the guy that sits there and is pushing the other guy to play well, and he has worked extremely hard knowing that his chance was going to come. And I've even talked to him about five, six days ago about your time will come, you got to be ready. Great conversation and he was happy for Lyon."

Even though Ruff has trust in his team to do the right things, one thing he can't control are the whims of replay reviews. After a stoppage in which Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobeš appeared to make a regular save on Jack Quinn on a play in the crease, the league stepped in to review to see if the puck went over the line. As it turned out, Dobeš had the puck in his trapper, but it went over the line and was called a goal.

Unexpectedly, the Sabres had a 2-0 first period lead, but Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis challenged for goalie interference and won. Even though it looked like Quinn's stick may have helped push Dobeš glove over the line, it was Helenius who was cited for causing the goal to be wiped out. That moment and the nearly 10 minutes spent reviewing the play and the challenge swung the game from a possible 2-0 Sabres lead to it being 1-0 again and the crowd fully involved yet again.

"The review where we get the goal, the review where they took it away which I totally disagree with, just for the fact that Dobeš is always swinging his stick," Ruff said. "He initiated the contact with Helenius, with the stick coming across the crease, and I thought Helenius did a great job of trying to avoid the goaltender and their guy ends up hitting the goaltender. So, I really thought that was going our way. I know that's my opinion, but a great play by the kid and just a tough review on us."

With the crowd back in it, the Habs rode the momentum and made it 2-1 before the period came to an end. Just like in Game 3 where Buffalo had a great start with an early goal only to get run over, the same script looked like it was unfolding again.

But the second period was different. Even though the Canadiens had power play chances like mad, the Sabres penalty killers corrected their ways as the game wore on. Although Cole Caufield got one on the man advantage late in the first, that proved to be the only power play goal they'd get all night in seven chances. Penalty kills can create momentum, and they did for the Sabres.

The Sabres beleaguered power play wound up being the biggest factor in turning Game 4 around, that and some funky luck, too.

Tage Thompson's dump-in on the power play seven minutes into the second kicked off the Zamboni door in the corner and made a beeline for Dobeš. The puck caromed off his leg and into the back of the net to make it 2-2. It'll look great in a box score, but it was a deflating goal for the Canadiens.

"I rimmed it and obviously saw it hit the glass and saw, kind of just scanning around looking for it," Thompson said. "And a few guys put their hands up. So, it's a nice feeling when you see that."

With the score back even and momentum going in Buffalo's favor on road ice, the third period saw more work from the Sabres penalty killers come through and again saw the power play get it done when Zach Benson made it 3-2 4:41 in. Unlike the first power play goal, this one was a true effort.

"We've talked about our power play being good in key moments," Benson said. "That's what we did. We went out there, we executed. Heck of a slip pass by (Josh Doan) and my job was pretty easy from there, just putting it in the net."

The power play coming through for the second straight game is another creation of Ruff's after the man advantage groups have performed so badly he changed them around radically after Game 2. Benson and Doan were part of that move joining the first group. Granted, that move was more of a "it can't get any worse" type of situation, but it's paid off so it counts.

This series wasn't meant to be short. Seeing the Canadiens surge out and grab a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven was alarming for Buffalo and a celebratory one for Montréal, but with Ruff making gutsy decisions and Sabres players following through, it's tied up and now it's a best-of-three. This one is going at least six and at most seven, but Game 5 is pivotal to bringing someone to the brink.

"We were too loose," Ruff said. "I thought tonight we finally tightened things up. We finally got to the place where we need to be. It looked like our team again, from the start of the game to the way we finished the game."