He's not the only one. Sabres tix are selling now. Stop opening up so many seats to other teams fans.
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Rasmus Dahlin expressed his appreciation for Sabres fans in attendance Saturday but said he never wants to see as many
Montreal fans as he did in Buffalo's 4-2 home loss. Rebecca Villagracia / Getty Images
After the Montreal Canadiens beat the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, Montreal captain Nick Suzuki had already turned his attention to the team’s matchup with the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. In a locker room speech after that win, Suzuki referred to the game against the Sabres as a “must win.”
Suddenly, those are the stakes in these Sabres-Canadiens games. This was the third matchup between these two teams this month as they have ping-ponged back and forth between third and fourth place in the Atlantic Division. Suzuki wasn’t wrong to place that type of significance on this game, and his team responded accordingly with a 4-2 comeback win on the road.
This was just the second time all season the Sabres have lost a game when they were leading entering the third period. Buffalo is still 20-4-1 in its last 25 games, a stretch that has vaulted them into contention for a top three spot in the Atlantic Division. But the sting of this loss was written all over Rasmus Dahlin’s face after the game. Part of it was all of the narrow misses the Sabres had that could have swung the game. Tage Thompson and Jack Quinn hit posts. Dahlin himself had a few prime chances and couldn’t convert.
There was added frustration with a large chunk of the crowd, particularly in the lower bowl, wearing the visiting team’s colors. As they typically do, Montreal fans traveled well, creating and taking away Buffalo’s home-ice advantage. Sabres fans made an effort to drown out the “Go Habs Go” chants, but it led to at best a split crowd.
“I really, really appreciate the fans that came out, but I don’t want to see that many red in the future,” Dahlin said.
Many season-ticket holders probably dumped their tickets to this game early in the season, knowing they could recoup some money from a rabid Canadiens fan base. And that was before the Sabres turned their season around and went on a run unlike any other in franchise history. Why the tickets got sold isn’t as important as the fact that they were sold, and in a game as close as this one was, every little edge matters.
Over the last month, these teams have played each other three times. They’ve now split the season series 2-2 with the Sabres taking two of the three games this month. The Canadiens have a two-point lead in the standings, but the Sabres still have a game in hand.
Each time these two teams play it has resulted in a spirited and entertaining game. This game featured three lead changes, and the Canadiens needed three third-period goals to come back and win. Before this game, the Sabres were 24-1 when leading after two periods.
“We’ve been in a lot of tight games,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We’ve been in games where we’ve been able to close it. I thought early on in the third we didn’t manage the puck really well, probably was the thing that hurt us in the first five minutes. I thought after that, we started to manage it better. Just you got to be able to handle the puck under pressure, you got to be good on the walls. When the other team starts to put a lot of risk in their game, you got to make them pay.”
Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said he didn’t think his team managed the puck well against the Montreal Canadiens in Saturday’s 4-2 loss.
Bill Wippert / NHLI via Getty Images
The wall play Ruff was referring to came on Montreal’s go-ahead goal in the third period. Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring went back for the puck, but Kirby Dach managed to strip him of the puck and start a quick passing play that ended with Cole Caufield burying his second goal of the game. Kesselring didn’t play another shift for the rest of the game after that goal. Neither did Konsta Helenius, who was the closest player in coverage on Caufield.
Caufield, who now has 10 goals and 16 points in 18 career games against the Sabres, also scored the game-tying goal in the third period, re-directing a crossing pass and beating goalie Alex Lyon.
The Sabres out-chanced the Canadiens 42-21 and had a 22-11 advantage in high-danger chances. But as Ruff pointed out after the game, it was “a matter of inches.” The games that matter typically are. And for the Sabres, those games continue next week with matchups against the Panthers, Lightning and Penguins before the Olympic break.
“Important games now coming up,” Dahlin said. “If we want to show we’re a really good team, we better win these ones. These are the type of games you can see if you’re a good team or not.”
1. Dahlin noted that the matchups against the Canadiens have come down to special teams. Montreal went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Sabres went 1-for-4. The Canadiens have the seventh best power play in the NHL and opened the scoring with a Juraj Slafkovsky goal on the man advantage. The Sabres had a big chance on the power play late in the third but narrowly missed on a few chances that could have evened the game.
2. Owen Power scored a big goal for the Sabres early in this game to even the score 1-1. Buffalo also had an 18-9 advantage in scoring chances during Power’s five-on-five minutes. The Sabres were controlling play when he was on the ice, as has been the case for the last few months. His offensive production is down this season, but he got rewarded with a goal on Saturday.
3. Injury updates: Jordan Greenway didn’t play in this game despite taking warm-ups. He’s going to get another opinion on his core muscle injury on Monday. He’s already had two hernia surgeries dating back to last season but still hasn’t been able to work his way back to 100 percent. Meanwhile, defenseman Jacob Bryson and center Josh Norris were both on the ice for Buffalo’s morning skate on Saturday. Bryson has a chance to be available in Florida. The team is going to evaluate Norris after practice on Sunday.
Rasmus Dahlin frustrated as Montreal fans dominate Sabres’ home loss: 3 thoughts
A large chunk of the crowd, particularly in the lower bowl, was wearing the visiting team’s colors Saturday night.
www.nytimes.com
Rasmus Dahlin expressed his appreciation for Sabres fans in attendance Saturday but said he never wants to see as many
Montreal fans as he did in Buffalo's 4-2 home loss. Rebecca Villagracia / Getty Images
After the Montreal Canadiens beat the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night, Montreal captain Nick Suzuki had already turned his attention to the team’s matchup with the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. In a locker room speech after that win, Suzuki referred to the game against the Sabres as a “must win.”
Suddenly, those are the stakes in these Sabres-Canadiens games. This was the third matchup between these two teams this month as they have ping-ponged back and forth between third and fourth place in the Atlantic Division. Suzuki wasn’t wrong to place that type of significance on this game, and his team responded accordingly with a 4-2 comeback win on the road.
This was just the second time all season the Sabres have lost a game when they were leading entering the third period. Buffalo is still 20-4-1 in its last 25 games, a stretch that has vaulted them into contention for a top three spot in the Atlantic Division. But the sting of this loss was written all over Rasmus Dahlin’s face after the game. Part of it was all of the narrow misses the Sabres had that could have swung the game. Tage Thompson and Jack Quinn hit posts. Dahlin himself had a few prime chances and couldn’t convert.
There was added frustration with a large chunk of the crowd, particularly in the lower bowl, wearing the visiting team’s colors. As they typically do, Montreal fans traveled well, creating and taking away Buffalo’s home-ice advantage. Sabres fans made an effort to drown out the “Go Habs Go” chants, but it led to at best a split crowd.
“I really, really appreciate the fans that came out, but I don’t want to see that many red in the future,” Dahlin said.
Many season-ticket holders probably dumped their tickets to this game early in the season, knowing they could recoup some money from a rabid Canadiens fan base. And that was before the Sabres turned their season around and went on a run unlike any other in franchise history. Why the tickets got sold isn’t as important as the fact that they were sold, and in a game as close as this one was, every little edge matters.
Over the last month, these teams have played each other three times. They’ve now split the season series 2-2 with the Sabres taking two of the three games this month. The Canadiens have a two-point lead in the standings, but the Sabres still have a game in hand.
Each time these two teams play it has resulted in a spirited and entertaining game. This game featured three lead changes, and the Canadiens needed three third-period goals to come back and win. Before this game, the Sabres were 24-1 when leading after two periods.
“We’ve been in a lot of tight games,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We’ve been in games where we’ve been able to close it. I thought early on in the third we didn’t manage the puck really well, probably was the thing that hurt us in the first five minutes. I thought after that, we started to manage it better. Just you got to be able to handle the puck under pressure, you got to be good on the walls. When the other team starts to put a lot of risk in their game, you got to make them pay.”
Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said he didn’t think his team managed the puck well against the Montreal Canadiens in Saturday’s 4-2 loss.
Bill Wippert / NHLI via Getty Images
The wall play Ruff was referring to came on Montreal’s go-ahead goal in the third period. Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring went back for the puck, but Kirby Dach managed to strip him of the puck and start a quick passing play that ended with Cole Caufield burying his second goal of the game. Kesselring didn’t play another shift for the rest of the game after that goal. Neither did Konsta Helenius, who was the closest player in coverage on Caufield.
Caufield, who now has 10 goals and 16 points in 18 career games against the Sabres, also scored the game-tying goal in the third period, re-directing a crossing pass and beating goalie Alex Lyon.
The Sabres out-chanced the Canadiens 42-21 and had a 22-11 advantage in high-danger chances. But as Ruff pointed out after the game, it was “a matter of inches.” The games that matter typically are. And for the Sabres, those games continue next week with matchups against the Panthers, Lightning and Penguins before the Olympic break.
“Important games now coming up,” Dahlin said. “If we want to show we’re a really good team, we better win these ones. These are the type of games you can see if you’re a good team or not.”
1. Dahlin noted that the matchups against the Canadiens have come down to special teams. Montreal went 1-for-3 on the power play, while the Sabres went 1-for-4. The Canadiens have the seventh best power play in the NHL and opened the scoring with a Juraj Slafkovsky goal on the man advantage. The Sabres had a big chance on the power play late in the third but narrowly missed on a few chances that could have evened the game.
2. Owen Power scored a big goal for the Sabres early in this game to even the score 1-1. Buffalo also had an 18-9 advantage in scoring chances during Power’s five-on-five minutes. The Sabres were controlling play when he was on the ice, as has been the case for the last few months. His offensive production is down this season, but he got rewarded with a goal on Saturday.
3. Injury updates: Jordan Greenway didn’t play in this game despite taking warm-ups. He’s going to get another opinion on his core muscle injury on Monday. He’s already had two hernia surgeries dating back to last season but still hasn’t been able to work his way back to 100 percent. Meanwhile, defenseman Jacob Bryson and center Josh Norris were both on the ice for Buffalo’s morning skate on Saturday. Bryson has a chance to be available in Florida. The team is going to evaluate Norris after practice on Sunday.