Tage Thompson says emotions got better of Sabres in MontrealGreg WyshynskiMay 10, 2026, 11:48 PM ETClose
- Greg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.
Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson stated his team was “too emotional” in its 6-2 loss to the Canadiens in Game 3 on Sunday night, and Montreal’s raucous home crowd at Bell Centre played a big role in that.
“We gave them life,” stated Thompson, who scored the game’s opening goal, only to watch Montreal score the next four to take a 2-1 series lead. “A couple plays we didn’t execute on, they capitalized on them. Obviously, the building is pretty rocking, so it’s a little deflating.
“I think we got a little too emotional tonight, too. We talk about it all the time: just staying even-keeled [through] highs and lows, just try to stay right in the middle. I thought we really let our emotions kind of get the better of us.”
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Thompson appeared to get the Sabres rolling on the road just 53 seconds into Game 3. He scored his first goal in eight games, a drought that had extended to Game 1 against the Boston Bruins in the opening round.
“We got the best start we could get to the game,” coach Lindy Ruff stated.
But Montreal was undaunted, peppering Sabres goalie Alex Lyon (31 saves) with 15 shots in the opening period and getting a game-tying goal from Alex Newhook. The Canadiens took over the game in the second period with three straight goals – Cole Caufield on the power play, his first goal in six games and only his second tally in the playoffs after 51 goals in the regular season; and forward Zack Bolduc and winger Juraj Slafkovsky (power play).
Rasmus Dahlin scored at 14:46 of the second period to cut the lead to 4-2, but that was all the Sabres could muster.
“When it’s time to defend on our zone, I feel the guys are very engaged and they work at it,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis stated. “They take pride in it. ‘This is what the game needs me to do right now. I’ve gotta defend.'”
When Buffalo created scoring chances, rookie Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (26 saves) was there, playing well enough to have the home crowd fans chanting his name all night.
“They played a strong game tonight, no doubt about it,” Lyon stated. “They played better than us, and the second period got away from us. They showed why they’re such a dangerous team. It’s our job now to get it out of our system and be ready to play in the next game. They’ve won two. They have some momentum. But we haven’t played our best game in the series and so we have to focus on bringing that next game.”
Ruff shut down any discussion about Lyon’s role in the loss, despite having given up more goals in the last two games (9) than he had in his previous seven appearances in these playoffs (7).
“[He] was very good all night.” Ruff stated. “I’ll stop you right there. [He] was very good all night.”
Thompson stated the Sabres need to play with “urgency without panic” in Game 4 on Tuesday and is confident Buffalo will bounce back.
“I’m not too concerned,” he stated. “I think everyone in the room believes in each other. We know what we need to do. It’s not a secret. There’s no magic answer. It’s just going to come down to will, just competing harder. I think we have the guys that can do it.”
Ruff stated better discipline will be the key for Game 4. That includes better “puck decisions” but also staying out of the penalty box. The Sabres had 13 penalties for 42 PIMs, and the Canadiens scored twice on the power play.
Ruff pointed to their Game 6 elimination of Boston on the road in the first round, when the Sabres had only one minor penalty all game.
He stated he hopes that after two straight losses to Montreal, his players have a better understanding of what it will take to rally against the Canadiens, who eliminated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 1.
“They beat a hell of a team. They are a hell of a team. Don’t take them for granted,” he stated. “If we don’t realize it now, we’re never going to realize it.”
