Sabres comfortable with ‘chaos in the crease’ as they force game 7 showdown - BERITAJA

MONTREAL – The Buffalo Sabres person made 4 goalie swaps, including mid-game switches successful each of their past 2 playoff games, and still stay successful position to triumph the second-round, best-of-seven bid against the Montreal Canadiens.

After falling down 3-1 early successful Saturday’s Game 6, and past storming backmost to triumph 8-3 astatine the Bell Centre, the Sabres could disregard each the goaltending chaos arsenic irrelevant arsenic they hole for a winner-take-all Game 7 astatine KeyBank Center connected Monday night.

“There’s nary quality successful preparation,” said netminder Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen, who stopped each 18 shots he faced successful alleviation of starter Alex Lyon connected Saturday. “You hole the aforesaid measurement each game. You person to beryllium fresh to go. That’s why there’s 2 goalies.

“I consciousness for illustration that’s been the communicative of the full year. As a team, everybody, erstwhile their chance comes aliases erstwhile they’re needed, they person stepped up.”

Lyon, who started the first 3 games of the bid earlier losing the nett to Luukkonen for Games 4 and 5, allowed 3 goals connected conscionable 4 shots done the opening 10:14 of the crippled earlier he was fixed the hook.

“In a crippled for illustration this, it conscionable felt Al wasn’t seeing it,” said Sabres caput coach Lindy Ruff. “I conscionable turned to UPL (Luukkonen) to spot if he could thief america retired and he did. From that point, he about apt made 4 aliases 5 really bully saves that kept them disconnected the board.”

Luukkonen felt assured arsenic he entered the game, believing he didn’t person a full batch to lose.

“When you get put in, it doesn’t really matter really galore shots you see,” said Luukkonen. “You conscionable effort to find a measurement to get comfortable successful the nett and beryllium fresh for the adjacent shot. I consciousness like, arsenic a goalie, you benignant of person to deliberation that you’re almost playing pinch location money astatine that point.

“You benignant of want to conscionable do your champion to thief your squad win. You can’t overcomplicate things. You person to spell conscionable 1 changeable astatine a time.”

Luukkonen started the first 2 games of Buffalo’s first-round playoff bid pinch the Boston Bruins, but was yanked 16 seconds into the 3rd play of Game 2 pinch his squad trailing 4-0.

The Espoo, Finland autochthonal rode the conifer for 7 consecutive games until being called upon successful Game 4 of this bid past Tuesday. The 27-year-old made 29 saves successful his team’s 3-2 triumph that night, but was pulled successful favour of Lyon aft 2 periods successful Game 5.

It was, therefore, Lyon starting Saturday’s Game 6, an outing that was short-lived.

“You person to beryllium capable to benignant of conscionable ne'er get excessively low, ne'er get excessively high,” said Luukkonen. “Every crippled is different and a caller one. You can’t really resistance those games along. You request to cognize what you did incorrect and what you request to do better.”

Despite the goalie alteration early successful the game, Ruff was not dissatisfied pinch his team’s wide play to commencement the game.

“I thought we played a hellhole of a first period,” said Ruff. “We conscionable didn’t triumph the scoresheet battle.”

While the Sabres whitethorn person been trailing 3-1 astatine the clip of Luukkonen’s introduction into the game, guardant Jason Zucker believed his squad was a unfortunate of a mates unlucky breaks.

“They (Montreal) had 1 extremity connected a powerfulness play, different disconnected the faceoff,” said Zucker, who scored the first of 7 unanswered goals for the Sabres aft the goalie switch. “Overall, we benignant of liked what we were doing. We needed to support it going, enactment connected our toes and we did that.”

The Sabres person already started turning their sights to Game 7.

While Buffalo has won conscionable 2 of their six location games these playoffs, they stay assured successful their expertise to adjacent retired the bid successful beforehand of their fans and book their spot successful the Eastern Conference last against the rested Carolina Hurricanes.

“It’s going to beryllium awesome,” said Tage Thompson, who collected 4 points successful his team’s Game 6 win. “It’s a caller acquisition for a batch of guys successful this room and thing you dream of increasing up. We knew, going into this series, it was going to beryllium a agelong one. They’re a bully team. I deliberation it’s conscionable thing that gets you excited. It’s different crippled that we get to embrace.

“I deliberation if you would person asked each feline successful here, successful September, if they would person taken being successful Game 7 of Round 2, we each would person signed up for that. We’re successful a awesome spot and now it’s conscionable 1 game. It’s each that matters.”

This study by BERITAJA was first published May 16, 2026.