Alex Newhook scored twice, providing crucial secondary scoring for Montreal, as the Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 on Friday night to tie their second-round playoff series at one game apiece.
Mike Matheson, Alexandre Carrier, and Nick Suzuki (with an empty-net goal) also found the net for the Canadiens. Rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes stopped 27 shots, extending Montreal’s pattern of alternating wins and losses, a trend that carried through their seven-game first-round series victory over Tampa Bay.
Montreal advanced to the second round after Newhook’s game-winning goal at 11:07 of the third period in a 2-1 series-clinching win on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Canadiens’ top offensive players continue to struggle. Cole Caufield extended his goal drought to five games, while Juraj Slafkovsky has just one assist in his last eight outings.
Zach Benson scored the lone goal for Buffalo, while Alex Lyon surrendered four goals on 27 shots. Lyon had previously allowed seven goals in six-plus appearances since replacing Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who was pulled after two periods in a 4-2 first-round series loss to Boston in Game 2.
The series moves to Montreal for Game 3 on Sunday night.
Mitch Marner recorded his first career playoff hat trick with three goals and an assist, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 6-2 rout of the Anaheim Ducks and a 2-1 series lead in their second-round matchup.
Shea Theodore added a goal and an assist, while Brayden McNabb scored shorthanded as Vegas built a 5-0 lead through two periods, silencing a sellout crowd in Orange County and erasing the memory of a rough offensive performance in Game 2.
Carter Hart made 30 saves as the Golden Knights moved within two wins of the Western Conference finals, handing the upstart Ducks their worst loss in eight years since their last postseason appearance. Game 4 is Sunday night in Anaheim.
Marner scored a natural hat trick in the first two periods, giving him six goals in the last four games of his first playoff run with his new team. The longtime Maple Leafs forward delivered Vegas’ first four-point playoff performance since 2019, prompting fans to toss hats onto the ice after his third goal beat Ville Husso with 2:04 left in the second period.
Marner’s three goals surpassed his total from last spring’s entire 13-game playoff run with Toronto, where the Ontario native often faced criticism for underperforming in the postseason.
