BUFFALO, N.Y. — Two games in, it’s apparent this is going to be an aesthetically pleasing series — and we haven’t even come close to what it can be when both teams hit their stride on the same night.
But this much is clear: There is free ice out there. The Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres both want to play with puck possession and create off the rush. Go, go, go.
“I feel like these are two teams with a similar DNA,” said Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis.
“We’re (both) fast, deep, skilled teams,” Habs center Jake Evans said.
It’s a 1-1 split heading into what will be mayhem for Game 3 Sunday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, both teams now adjusting to a whole different feel this series.
It’s night and day compared to each team’s first round.
“It’s funny because playing Boston in the first round, they just play a completely different style of game, right?” said Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram. “They’re more defense-oriented, they sit back in the neutral zone, they try to slow the game down, clog it up a bit. First game against these guys, it was like, ‘Oh wow, this is fun hockey.’ Going back for a few pucks, you’re kind of like, ‘Oh, I forgot that some teams forecheck.’
“It’s definitely an adjustment,” added Byram. “But I agree, it feels like we’re looking into the mirror a bit with that team over there.”
We know the fans love to watch two teams like this when they’re at their blazing best. But the players, too, feed off of it.
“Us and Montreal play a pretty similar style of hockey,” said Sabres star Tage Thompson. “Both really aggressive, good-skating teams that like to make plays. The flip side of that is there’s usually odd-man rushes.
“There’s definitely more plays to be made out there. It feels like there’s a little bit more open ice in the neutral zone.”
How much more ice? Consider Juraj Slafkovský’s response Friday night after Game 2, when asked to compare how hard he had to fight for two inches of ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning with finding himself in this style of series now.
“I feel like, especially in the O-zone, we have a lot more time,” the 22-year-old Canadiens forward said. “We never know, it might change, it might not; but these two games, it felt like we had more time in the O-zone to make plays. … I feel like if we have space, we’re confident and skilled enough to use it to our advantage.”
Byram played in one of the more enjoyable Stanley Cup finals in June 2022, when his Colorado Avalanche beat the Lightning in a series that unfortunately ended in six games, not seven.
It was skill and speed, and of course smarts and responsible two-way hockey, but the pace of Tampa-Colorado was through the roof in that final.
“Obviously, Colorado and Tampa, very detailed, structured teams,” Byram said. “They’re well-coached. They play the game the right way. They play fast. They attack. They don’t sit back. I don’t mean that in a negative way towards other teams, but I just think they play an exciting style of hockey. I feel like throughout the year we’ve kind of morphed into that. And Montreal is definitely a team like that.”
Well, Tampa played that way in ’22, before they morphed into the Bully Bolts this year. Tampa Bay remains a very talented team, but it plays a different style now. Montreal found out in the first round just how well the Lightning can shut you down. The ghost of Anthony Cirelli still haunts them.
“The Tampa series was so detailed, they play a very low-risk game, and we had to do the same,” Habs captain Nick Suzuki said after Friday night’s 5-1 win. “You can’t let that slip away. They (the Sabres) will take advantage of it. If we continue to play a low-risk style, I think we can definitely win the series.”
Suzuki, a Selke Trophy finalist, means that though they’re now involved in a series with a playing style more up their alley, the lessons learned against Tampa shouldn’t go out the door. There’s room for some high octane, yes, but minimizing unnecessary risk is also paramount at this time of year.
Coincidentally, that is exactly how Sabres winger Alex Tuch also viewed it when asked about the teams’ styles of play.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s fun,” Tuch said. “But also, you got to make sure you stay on your toes and (are) defending well. They have a lot of weapons in that room. A lot of good goal scorers and playmakers. So, you have to make sure you’re playing hard against them. I think it comes down to will and determination.”
The Sabres’ puck management was mediocre Friday night, which fed Montreal’s counterattack. That will be the cat-and-mouse game all series long: Which team can play its style without having that risk backfire?
From the moment St. Louis was hired as Habs head coach, his mantra has been about hockey IQ, skill development and playing a certain brand of positive hockey that is especially well received in Montreal. It’s not just “win, baby, win,” it’s “win and entertain us” in that storied hockey market.
The Sabres have done a lot of that this season, as well. They’re so much fun to watch when they’re playing at their best. It’s fast and furious and involves their defensemen jumping into the play.
I asked Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff on Friday morning about the aesthetic values of his team’s game when it’s going well.
“You have a group of players that, as a coach, you have to develop a style that’s good for that group,” Ruff began. “We felt, especially with our top-four defense, having them heavily involved (in the offense). You know, practicing where D are involved, forwards are covering, sometimes there’s a D in front of the net.
“You know, the D-zone coverage stuff has gotten so good in the league, where teams have gone man-on-man and you’re trying to get away from it; we’re just looking for creative ways with our group,” he added. “I just feel that’s part of our strength. We’ve got four-line depth. There’s one thing about having defensemen joining and being involved; it’s another thing about finishing those opportunities.
“If you don’t finish, putting that risk in your game doesn’t really equate. But I feel it does with our group.”
It’s so encouraging to see how both coaches in this series want their teams to play. The NHL needs it from more teams. However, it’s also a results business, and within the scope of developing exciting, young teams, there’s a bigger prize on the line.
“We’ve both got something to prove,” said Habs defenseman Kaiden Guhle. “Obviously, they haven’t been in the playoffs for a long time, they had a great season this year and they’ve got something to prove to themselves, I’m sure, and to the league.”
As does Montreal, the youngest team in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I think, rebuild and whatever you say, obviously it’s going well so far, and we have something to prove,” Guhle said. “We don’t want this to be a team that wins a round or two and then we get booted every year. I think we want to prove that we’re here right now and want to show the league and the world that.”