BUFFALO, N.Y. \u2014 Two games in, it\u2019s apparent this is going to be an aesthetically pleasing series \u2014 and we haven\u2019t even come close to what it can be when both teams hit their stride on the same night.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like these are two teams with a similar DNA,\u201d said Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re (both) fast, deep, skilled teams,\u201d Habs center Jake Evans said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a 1-1 split<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n It\u2019s night and day compared to each team\u2019s first round.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny because playing Boston in the first round, they just play a completely different style of game, right?\u201d said Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram. \u201cThey\u2019re 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, \u2018Oh wow, this is fun hockey.\u2019 Going back for a few pucks, you\u2019re kind of like, \u2018Oh, I forgot that some teams forecheck.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely an adjustment,\u201d added Byram. \u201cBut I agree, it feels like we\u2019re looking into the mirror a bit with that team over there.\u201d<\/p>\n We know the fans love to watch two teams like this when they\u2019re at their blazing best. But the players, too, feed off of it.<\/p>\n \u201cUs and Montreal play a pretty similar style of hockey,\u201d said Sabres star Tage Thompson<\/a>. \u201cBoth really aggressive, good-skating teams that like to make plays. The flip side of that is there\u2019s usually odd-man rushes.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s definitely more plays to be made out there. It feels like there\u2019s a little bit more open ice in the neutral zone.\u201d<\/p>\n How much more ice? Consider Juraj Slafkovsk\u00fd\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like, especially in the O-zone, we have a lot more time,\u201d the 22-year-old Canadiens forward said. \u201cWe 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. \u2026 I feel like if we have space, we\u2019re confident and skilled enough to use it to our advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, Colorado and Tampa, very detailed, structured teams,\u201d Byram said. \u201cThey\u2019re well-coached. They play the game the right way. They play fast. They attack. They don\u2019t sit back. I don\u2019t 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\u2019ve kind of morphed into that. And Montreal is definitely a team like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, Tampa played that way in \u201922, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Tampa series was so detailed, they play a very low-risk game, and we had to do the same,\u201d Habs captain Nick Suzuki said after Friday night\u2019s 5-1 win. \u201cYou can\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n