Buffalo's Goalie Swap Unlocked 7-0 Run; Game 7 Odds Shift Hard on Sabres

Buffalo forced Game 7 in their second-round series against Montreal on Saturday with an 8-3 victory that reads less like a playoff game and more like a coaching clinic in crisis management. Down 3-1 after the first period with starting goaltender Alex Lyon allowing three goals on four shots, the Sabres pulled the plug, inserted a fresh netminder, and watched their team score seven consecutive goals to dismantle the Canadiens in the second and third periods.

The comeback itself was mathematically extreme—rallying from a two-goal deficit by outshot opponents 36-22 represents the kind of possession dominance that precedes blowouts. Natural Stat Trick's expected goals metric registered 68.19% in Buffalo's favor, a signal that the Sabres were generating higher-quality chances consistently, not winning via variance. Rasmus Dahlin's five-point night and Tage Thompson's four points anchored an offense that moved through Montreal's defense like water through cracked concrete. The personnel was always there; what changed was the goaltending anchor.

Lyon's collapse—three goals in four shots—is a critical data point for Game 7 on Monday in Buffalo. The Sabres don't pull their starting goalie in a second-round playoff game unless something has fractured. That substitution is a statement of urgency and a reset of team confidence. Montreal's Canadiens, conversely, faced a goalie who played well enough after the swap to hold them off seven consecutive scoring possessions. The psychological weight of that kind of shutdown, following a 3-1 lead evaporation, doesn't vanish in 48 hours. It lives in the room.

From a betting perspective, Game 7 moneyline and spread movement has already begun to favor Buffalo. The Sabres now carry the momentum advantage, a confirmed closer on the bench who can be trusted in elimination, and home ice—a combination that typically compresses closer odds by 3-4 percentage points in knockout play. Pre-game books opened this series expecting a tight Game 7; Saturday's 8-3 result has instead signaled that the team with the deeper goaltending depth won the pivotal possession battle. Montreal's inability to generate offense after taking a 3-1 lead (22 total shots on the night) indicates their top-line production may have been noise rather than evidence of depth-scoring sustainability. Expect Buffalo's moneyline to continue tightening as sharp money books in confidence around the backup goaltender's Game 6 performance and the Sabres' proven ability to execute when their season depends on it.