Benson's Power-Play Poise Steadies Buffalo as Series Shifts to Home Ice

Zach Benson converted a third-period power-play goal to break a 2-2 tie and lift Buffalo past Montreal 3-2 on Tuesday, evening the Eastern Conference semifinal at two games apiece. The play itself was textbook execution—a slot entry from Josh Doan, a deft touch to redirect the puck, and a backhander past Jakub Dobes at 4:41 of the third. It's the kind of finishing moment that young forwards either seize or squander; Benson seized it, and the confidence embedded in that choice matters more than the calendar date.

What's driving the Sabres' resurgence here is both structural and personnel-based. After dropping Games 2 and 3, Buffalo benched Alex Lyon and inserted Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen between the pipes. Luukkonen made 28 saves and absorbed Montreal's rhythm without breaking—a marked difference from Lyon's leaky Game 2. More importantly, Tage Thompson's fluke second-period goal (a center-ice dump-in that banked off the glass and ricocheted off Dobes' leg) exposed a goalie operating on an unsteady foundation. Dobes faced 47 total shot attempts and stopped only 19 shots in regulation; his high-danger chance conversion rate has drifted into vulnerable territory.

Montreal's power play, the backbone of their offensive identity throughout these playoffs, misfired badly: 1-for-7 on the night, including a four-minute advantage late in the second that yielded nothing. When a team's special-teams edge—usually their primary edge in a tight series—flips negative, the structural advantage shifts. Buffalo's power play scored when it mattered most, converting on the Evans holding penalty in the third. The Canadiens' failure to exploit their own man-advantage situations, combined with their inability to tighten defensive gaps on loose-puck plays, signals fatigue or adjustment struggles.

For prop purposes, the critical variable heading into Game 5 in Buffalo is Luukkonen's workload and Montreal's offensive reset. Luukkonen's 28 saves on 47 attempts (a .596 save percentage on all chances, stronger than his season average in tight spots) suggests Montreal will test him early and often. However, that same shot volume—and Dobes' soft play in Game 4—points to elevated totals in Games 5 and 6. Montreal's power play should regress toward efficiency (they're not a 1-for-7 team over a series; variance is at play), but their inability to finish at even strength in high-danger areas is a concern that won't disappear in one game. The under on Montreal's team total leans more attractive in Buffalo's building, where noise and pace work against visiting teams executing rhythm-dependent systems.