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Larry Robinson carries the torch into the Bell Centre during the pregame ceremony of Game 6 of second round NHL playoff action in Montreal on Saturday, May 16, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\nLarry Robinson was fighting back tears as he carried the famous torch into the Bell Centre ahead of Game 6 of a second-round playoff series Saturday night between the Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought they were loud when we played,\u201d Robinson said. \u201cBut that was another octave.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a big lump in my throat,\u201d the Hall of Fame defenceman added. \u201cOoof! It\u2019s pretty emotional when you come down there. It brings back a lot of great memories.\u201d<\/p>\n
Larry Robinson carries the torch into the Bell Centre during the pregame ceremony of Game 6 of second round NHL playoff action in Montreal on Saturday, May 16, 2026. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
Robinson, 74, won six Stanley Cups during his 17 seasons with the Canadiens and was as tough as any player who ever put on the uniform. If he could be overwhelmed by the phenomenal atmosphere at the Bell Centre during these playoffs, it shouldn\u2019t come as a shock that the youngest team in the post-season has also looked overwhelmed.<\/p>\n
The Canadiens, needing one more win to advance to the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes, instead were blown out 8-3 by the Sabres.<\/p>\n
Embarrassing.<\/p>\n
It matches the most goals the Canadiens have given up this season \u2014 they lost 8-4 to the Washington Capitals at the Bell Centre on Nov. 20.<\/p>\n
The Canadiens are now 2-4 at home in the playoffs. The good news for them is they are 5-2 on the road and Game 7 will be Monday in Buffalo (7:30 p.m., CBC, SN, TVA Sports).<\/p>\n
After the Sabres went up 7-3 with 5:38 left in the third period \u2014 converting the touchdown with an empty-net goal by Tage Thompson \u2014 a majority of the fans who showed up in their red Canadiens sweaters looking to party on a Saturday night started heading to the exits in what might have been the last game at the Bell Centre this season.<\/p>\n
The Saturday night party was in Buffalo, not Montreal.<\/p>\n
Zach Metsa added to the Canadiens\u2019 embarrassment when he scored the Sabres\u2019 fourth power-play goal of the game to make it 8-3 with 2:11 left on the clock. The Sabres went 4-for-6 on the power play.<\/p>\n
Cole Caufield \u2014 Mr. Saturday night for the Canadiens with 21 goals in 23 Saturday games during the regular season \u2014 failed to score against the Sabres in his first Saturday playoff game and was limited to two shots.<\/p>\n
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Seats are empty at the Bell Centre as fans leave early as the Canadiens lose 8-3 to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6. Allen McInnis \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
The Canadiens looked overwhelmed again on home ice after Robinson carried in the torch, followed by the \u201cOl\u00e9! Ol\u00e9! Ol\u00e9!\u201d chants and another spine-tingling rendition of O Canada with the fans doing their best to drown out anthem singer Alex Gaumond in French and English.<\/p>\n
Juraj Slafkovsky really looked overwhelmed on the first shift of the game, falling to the ice untouched at the offensive blue line and then making a horrible clearing attempt in the defensive zone that resulted in the Sabres\u2019 Rasmus Dahlin opening the scoring only 32 seconds after the puck was dropped. The Sabres have scored the first goal in all three games at the Bell Centre in this series \u2014 and twice in the first minute.<\/p>\n
But the Canadiens got even just over a minute after Dahlin\u2019s goal when Arber Xhekaj scored the first playoff goal of his career on a point shot. A power-play goal by Ivan Demidov and a short-handed goal by Evans gave the Canadiens a 3-1 lead at 10:14 of the first period and it looked like the Canadiens had settled down.<\/p>\n
But those three goals came on only four shots on Buffalo goalie Alex Lyon. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff had seen enough and pulled Lyon in favour of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who would stop all 18 shots he faced while his teammates scored seven unanswered goals. The Sabres outshot the Canadiens 36-22.<\/p>\n
Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis decided to pull goalie Jakub Dobes at 9:58 of the third period after he allowed six goals on 33 shots. Jacob Fowler, making his NHL playoff debut, allowed one goal on the two shots he faced.<\/p>\n
This game marked the first time in franchise history the Canadiens lost a potential series-clinching playoff game on home ice when leading by multiple goals. That might bring tears to Robinson\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n
The Canadiens are the youngest team in the playoffs this year and the Sabres are the second-youngest. That might explain why both teams have struggled with the pressure of playing at home in the post-season and been much better on the road. The Sabres are 2-4 at home and 5-1 on the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d St. Louis said after the game when asked if both teams are more comfortable on the road. \u201cI feel probably both teams want the result bad for the fan base.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted this for our fans and for us,\u201d St. Louis added. \u201cWe wanted this game and we just didn\u2019t play well.\u00a0 So we\u2019re going to reset and go on the road and try and put our best foot forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Canadiens were able to do that in Game 7 of their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, winning 2-1 in Tampa after losing Game 6 by a 1-0 score in overtime at the Bell Centre.<\/p>\n
But bouncing back from an overtime loss in Game 6 is probably a lot easier than bouncing back from a blowout.<\/p>\n
\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing to have this effort on home ice,\u201d Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. \u201cWe can\u2019t let that be our last game here. We got to do everything we can to forget about it and be ready for Game 7.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think guys maybe want to try to do too much here to impress the fans and give them back some love,\u201d Suzuki added about playing at home. \u201cBut we can\u2019t just let that affect us mentally. We got to keep things simple and keep doing what makes us successful, regardless of where we\u2019re playing. That\u2019s definitely not on the fans. It\u2019s on us. We got to play better here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sabres definitely have the momentum going into Game 7 and Luukkonen should have a lot more confidence now than Dobes. Those two things could be hard to beat.<\/p>\n
The Canadiens have shown an impressive ability to bounce back \u2014 or \u201cbounce forward\u201d as St. Louis likes to say \u2014 all season.<\/p>\n
But after watching how they were dominated by the Sabres in Game 6, it seems likely the Canadiens have played their last game this season at the Bell Centre.<\/p>\n