Canadiens most to blame for blowout Game 6 loss to Sabres

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Canadiens most to blame for blowout Game 6 loss to Sabres

Nate Duffett, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Sun, May 17, 2026 ·

3 min read

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The Montreal Canadiens had a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Final with a Saturday night home game at the Bell Centre against the Buffalo Sabres . Game 6 could've been a great moment in modern Canadiens history if the team had found a way to hold on to the 3-1 lead they built in the first period, but the momentum of a rocking home crowd wasn't enough to get them over the finish line.

The Sabres scored seven unanswered goals , starting with a Jason Zucker powerplay goal late in the first period that swung the momentum back in Buffalo's favor. Emerging Buffalo hero Zach Benson scored the tying goal in the second, Jack Quinn scored the go-ahead goal, and the rest was history for the Sabres as they brought the series back to a deciding Game 7 at home.

The Canadiens did the worst possible thing in their loss on Saturday night, and that was to wake up a struggling Sabres powerplay. Buffalo had been one of the worst teams on the man advantage over the past couple of months, but they went 4-for-6 in Game 6.

While the undisciplined play didn't help matters, the Canadiens are going to need some more production from some of the players who got them where they are. If not, their season could be over on Monday night.

Juraj Slafkovsky and Cole Caufield need better for Canadiens

The Canadiens' first line has been the driving force behind their success for the last two seasons. Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki , and Cole Caufield have been the team's offensive catalysts, while also playing decently enough at their own end to justify playing against the other team's best. However, it is now two consecutive home games where the trio were in the starting lineup and gave up a goal, this time from Rasmus Dahlin in Game 6.

The goal came from a Slafkovsky turnover where he attempted a weak flip out of the zone, and it didn't make it past the blueline. Mattias Samuelsson was able to get the puck past Caufield, and then Dahlin made a great move around a diving Slafkovsky to put home the goal.

It was an ugly start that took the air out of the building right away, but the Canadiens did rally off three consecutive goals to take back a 3-1 lead, with Caufield assisting on the go-ahead goal. However, it was the only real impact the diminutive forward had on the game, while Slafkovsky has just one goal and four assists in the series, with three of those assists coming in one game.

The game got away from the Canadiens on Saturday night, meaning a couple of goals from the first line wouldn't have made much of a difference. However, they do need more from their top line on Monday.

Jakub Dobes has back-to-back questionable starts

The Sabres outshot the Canadiens 36-22 on Saturday night, which isn't conducive to success. However, allowing six goals in the manner Dobes did is a bit concerning, with the worst being Quinn's go-ahead goal that made it 4-3.

Dobes' Game 5 performance after he allowed his third goal on the first four shots was a bit concerning for Canadiens fans. He bounced back incredibly, but the trend of losing focus and allowing goals in bunches over the last two games is an issue.

If Dobes lets that happen again in Game 7, it could be more difficult for the Canadiens to come back in that setting. Montreal will need him to stay locked in.

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