Benson breaks tie on birthday, Sabres beat Canadiens 3-2 in Game 4 to even series

TL;DR

Zach Benson scored the game-winning goal on his 21st birthday, leading the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 4, evening the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Key points

Zach Benson scored on his 21st birthday
Buffalo Sabres won 3-2 against Montreal Canadiens
The series is tied 2-2
Game 5 will be played in Buffalo
The winner faces Carolina in the Eastern Conference final

Buffalo SabresMontreal CanadiensZach BensonJosh Doan

Buffalo Sabres v Montreal Canadiens - Game Four

MONTREAL — Zach Benson broke a tie on a third-period power play on his 21st birthday and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 on Tuesday night in Game 4 to even the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Benson took a pass in the slot from Josh Doan, kicked the puck to his stick and put a backhander past goalie Jakub Dobes at 4:41 of the third. The goal came with Jake Evans off for holding Peyton Krebs.

Game 5 is Thursday night in Buffalo, with Game 6 in Montreal on Saturday night. The series winner will face Carolina in the Eastern Conference final. The Hurricanes swept both of their series.

Tage Thompson tied it for Buffalo in the second period with a fluke goal and also had an assist. Defenseman Mattias Samuelsson opened the scoring and Doan had two assists.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen replaced Alex Lyon in goal after the Sabres dropped Games 2 and 3, making 28 saves in his first action since being pulled in the third period of a Game 2 loss to Boston in the first round.

Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield scored for Montreal. Dobes stopped 19 shots.

Q&A

What was the final score of the Sabres vs Canadiens Game 4?

The final score was 3-2 in favor of the Buffalo Sabres.

When is Game 5 of the Sabres vs Canadiens series?

Game 5 is scheduled for Thursday night in Buffalo.

Who scored the game-winning goal in Game 4?

Zach Benson scored the game-winning goal on a power play in the third period.