No Need For Panic After Montreal's Game 4 Loss

A dominating 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night set the Montreal Canadiens up for a massive opportunity heading into Game 4 - a chance to take a 3-1 series lead and go within one win of a berth in the Eastern Conference Final, somewhere they haven't been since 2014 (2021 saw them compete and win the Clarence Campbell Bowl as "Western Conference champions").

The pomp and pageantry was on full display, as always, in Montreal, with former captain and Hockey Hall of Famer Guy Carbonneau carrying the torch into the Bell Centre prior to the game, sending the arena into a frenzy. It set the tone for what was ended up being a very entertaining Game 4, despite the final result for the Canadiens.

Buffalo Sabres tie series at 2-2, setting up crucial Game 5 at home

First Period

As was the case in Games 1 and 3, the Buffalo Sabres scored the first goal of the night, with defenseman Mattias Samuelsson jumping up in the rush and putting home a one-timer to give his team a 1-0 lead just over six minutes into the contest. 

Montreal would answer back a little over three minutes later as forward Alex Newhook picked up his team-leading sixth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, tying this game up at one goal a piece. Meanwhile in the dying seconds of the opening frame, on the power play, Cole Caufield walked in from the corner and slid the puck through Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.

Between the three goals, 12 combined penalty minutes and two lengthy challenges, Tuesday's first period took nearly an hour to complete and was one of the wildest we've seen in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, so far.

Second Period

The parade to the penalty box continued in the second period as less than six minutes into the middle frame, Alexandre Carrier was handed a four-minute minor for high-sticking, which gave the Buffalo Sabres a massive opportunity to quiet down the Bell Centre crowd and they did exactly that, in strange fashion.

Forward Tage Thompson dumped the puck into Montreal's zone where it took a deflection off the Zamboni door - which has been a problem at the Bell Centre for quite some time now - then off the skate of goaltender Jakub Dobeš and into the back of the net, silencing the Canadiens fans in attendance. 

Thankfully for the Canadiens, they managed to limit the damage in the second period and even outshot the Sabres 10-5, but were unable to get another, which set up a big third period for both clubs.

Third Period

The Canadiens' penalty troubles cost them early in the third period as Jake Evans went off for holding Peyton Krebs, and Buffalo made them pay. Less than five minutes into the period, Zach Benson, who has tried his hardest to get under the skin of the Canadiens all series long, scored on the backhand, past the glove of Dobeš, to give the Sabres a 3-2 lead.

Montreal continued to press for the lead and dominated the final 20 minutes, firing 12 shots the way of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, all of which were turned aside as the Sabres held on for a 3-2 victory in Game 4, tying up the best-of-seven series at 2-2, with Game 5 set for Thursday night back in Buffalo.

Despite the loss, Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis didn't like his team's start, but was happy with their overall effort on Tuesday night. The Hockey Hall of Famer was also surprised that his group only managed to score once on the power play with all the chances they had.

"Special teams played a huge part. It's hard to believe that we only got one goal on the power play because I felt like we had a lot of chances. Tip your cap to the goalie [Luukkonen], he played a good game. Dobeš kept us in it too. Our start was not good, but after the disallowed goal and the challenge, I felt like we took the game over from that point. There was a lot of good stuff from that point on. It doesn't guarantee anything, but I liked our game." St. Louis said to reporters post-game.

As St. Louis said, the Canadiens' effort following the disallowed goal was very good and there's plenty of positives to take away from that contest and for that reason alone, fans shouldn't be panicking at all. This series is knotted up at two games a piece, the Canadiens have played well and know what it takes to win on the road. 

Another bonus for the fans: For the first time in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Martin St. Louis' group will have the opportunity to play on home ice at the Bell Centre on a Saturday night, as last night's loss confirmed Game 6 will be necessary. Cole Caufield has thrived on Saturday nights all year long, with 21 of his 51 goals during the regular season coming on Hockey Night in Canada and hopefully, he'll be able to continue that trend on the weekend.

But before we get there, a crucial Game 5 is in store tomorrow night. Puck drop for Game 5 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York is set for 7 pm ET and can be seen in Canada on CBC & Sportsnet, and on TNT in the United States.