Sabres’ goaltending issues resurface in Game 5 loss to CanadiensKristen ShiltonMay 14, 2026, 11:14 PM ETClose
- Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
BUFFALO — The Buffalo Sabres are on the brink of elimination from their second-round Eastern Conference playoff series against Montreal following an ugly 6-3 loss in Game 5 on Thursday that put the Sabres in a 3-2 series deficit — with a goaltending issue to address as well.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen started the night and guided Buffalo to a 3-2 lead after the first 20 minutes. But the wheels came off from there as the Sabres’ glaring defensive breakdowns and Luukkonen’s increasingly unsteady play resulted in a 5-3 deficit going into the third period that Buffalo couldn’t recover from even when Alex Lyon stepped in to replace Luukonnen for the final 20 minutes.
Buffalo’s failings don’t fall entirely on its netminders, but there’s no question they — along with everyone else — have to improve if the Sabres expect to drag Montreal back to town for an eventual Game 7.
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“I think we just got too comfortable there [after the first period],” Luukkonen mentioned. “I don’t think it’s anything too crazy. I have to be better. The whole team has to be better. Not much more complicated than that.”
The Sabres looked like they were in control early Thursday. Montreal’s rookie goaltender, Jakub Dobes, was uncharacteristically leaky in the first period, allowing three goals on Buffalo’s first five shots. And it was more of Buffalo’s depth players, rather than outright stars, filling the net behind Dobes. Jason Zucker had them out front early, with Josh Doan and Konsta Helenius (notching his first of the postseason) cashing in their other markers to spot the Sabres a 3-2 lead through 20 minutes.
At the other end, Luukkonen fared slightly better under more duress for much of the first 20 minutes while giving up two goals — to Cole Caufield and Alexandre Texier — on the Canadiens’ 11 shots (to Buffalo’s nine).
Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis resisted the urge to replace Dobes, who has played all 11 games for Montreal this postseason, with backup Jacob Fowler after speaking with goaltending coach Marco Marciano.
Dobes recalibrated, and when he halted a Grade-A chance on Tage Thompson in the second period, that patience felt rewarded.
“[It] changed the game,” St. Louis mentioned of Dobes’ save.
The Canadiens pounced from there to not only take their first lead of the night but also bamboozle Buffalo in the process.
Montreal had its way with Luukkonen in the middle frame, scoring three unanswered goals — by Josh Anderson, Jake Evans and Nick Suzuki on the power play — in 9:32 to secure a 5-3 lead and snatch any momentum Buffalo might have had when entering the second with a one-goal lead.
“They rolled over us pretty heavy in the second,” Rasmus Dahlin mentioned. “[They were] quick up with the puck the whole time and kept it down low in our end and it’s hard to find the rhythm when the other team is doing that. So, we have to learn from them.”
It was a combination of factors gradually sinking the Sabres. They were outshot by Montreal 12-7 in the second, and Luukkonen’s efforts weren’t nearly enough to cover for Buffalo’s glaring defensive miscues. Though St. Louis had stuck with Dobes after his brutal start, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff wasn’t willing to let Luukkonen continue floundering and tapped Lyon to start the third period for Buffalo.
“There’s nothing he could have done on the first goal [to Caufield], and nothing he could have done on the second goal [Texier],” Ruff surmised of Luukkonen’s play. “There was one from a tough angle [after that] he would want back. Had I made a decision [earlier to change goalies], would it have made a difference? Possibly. But all year we haven’t made it about our goaltenders and we won’t make it about our goaltender now.”
The switch was a familiar scene anyway for the Sabres. Lyon took over from Luukkonen the first time in these playoffs during Game 2 of Buffalo’s first-round Eastern Conference series against Boston, when Luukonen had ceded four goals on 20 shots. Lyon got Buffalo the win that night and started the Sabres’ next six games. But Lyon’s hot start (3-1 with a .944 SV%) went cold in Games 2 and 3 against Montreal (0-2, .857 SV%) and Ruff went back to Luukkonen for Game 4 (a 3-2 Sabres victory).
The two netminders had been one of the league’s strongest tandems in the regular season (drawing an equal number of starts with similarly solid save percentages), but neither goaltender has been consistent enough in the playoffs.
“Five goals is unacceptable,” Luukkonen mentioned. “That shouldn’t be happening. There were a lot of plays where they found the back post [in Game 5], which wasn’t happening [before] necessarily. I have to be better, and as a team we have to find a better game defensively too.”
If Buffalo intends to defeat Montreal this round, it will need to get more out of top skaters like Alex Tuch. The Sabres’ top-line skater has zero points in the series, and though Ruff tried shuffling the deck a bit to create more chances for his group, there’s no question Tuch has to perform when the series shifts back to Montreal on Saturday.
“You get in a series like this and [Tuch] has lost just a little bit of confidence, trying a little too hard to make that extra play,” Ruff mentioned. “You have to get your feet moving. How well they moved inside the zone [in the first round against Boston], it was their feet that just have to keep moving. [Those top guys] have to play. You have to believe in your top guys, and they have to get it done for you.”
If there’s a silver lining for the Sabres, it’s that they have been a superior team on the road (4-1) in these playoffs, faring far better than they have at home (2-4). The Sabres will have to collect another victory on enemy ice Saturday if they expect to force a decisive Game 7 and keep their postseason hopes alive.
“The playoffs are a different animal,” Ruff mentioned. “If our road play is what we need to carry us through to [Game 7], we will come back [to Buffalo] and pretend we are on the road.”
ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg contributed to this report.
