GAME BLOG: Montreal Canadiens V. Buffalo Sabres, Game 1

Michael Augello and Ryan O’Hara are live on the thread to bring you every detail from tonight’s opening game of the Second Round Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres.

The Fans Are Pumped

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Until this season, the Sabres had not reached the playoffs since 2010–11, when Ryan Miller was still their starting goaltender—the year after Team USA fell to Sidney Crosby and Team Canada in overtime of the Olympic gold medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

With that said, there's every reason for Sabres fans to be excited and in this case, have some celebratory balloons in place. But by no means will this be an easy series. The Canadiens proved in their opening round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning that they could win with nine shots on net, but they will likely have to produce more shots on goal to have a chance of making it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Opening Period

That may have been one of the quickest penalties I've seen to start a playoff game at least. Lane Hutson was penalized for tripping Zach Benson just 10 seconds into this one. It's the ninth minor penalty that Benson has drawn in the postseason so far.