Here are three things to watch in Game 5:<\/p>\n
1. Penalty trouble<\/p>\n
There is one simple fact about Buffalo and penalties in this series: The Sabres are taking too many.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Though Ruff was clear he believed some of the calls by the officials in Game 4 were \u201cquestionable,\u201d his team cannot put itself in a position to be on the wrong end of those calls. It ended up on the penalty kill seven times in Game 4, killing six of them, after killing all five in Game 2 and four of six in Game 3.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At some point, the Canadiens are going to make them pay.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see some trends where, I know Montreal has got a good power play, but I think they\u2019re going down easy,\u201d Ruff said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s part of the playoffs. It just is. You know how important a power play can be, so you get a stick on somebody; you\u2019ve got to be careful with your sticks. You know if they have a chance to make the play look worse than it is, they\u2019re going to. It\u2019s playoff hockey. Every team in this league does it.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. Getting up to speed quicker<\/p>\n
It\u2019s tough to win a playoff series when consistently chasing the score.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s even more difficult after constantly surrendering the game\u2019s first goal in the opening seven minutes of play, something the Canadiens have done in three of the first four games. In Game 1, Buffalo forward Josh Doan<\/a> scored 4:31 into the game. In Game 3, Sabres center Tage Thompson<\/a>\u00a0needed just 53 seconds after the opening face-off to put his team ahead. And, most recently, in Game 4, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson<\/a>\u00a0opened the scoring for Buffalo at 6:32 of the first period.\u00a0<\/p>\n Notice a trend here? The Canadiens had better, especially with the Sabres having regained home ice advantage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to get off to a good start,\u201d Montreal forward Josh Anderson<\/a>\u00a0said. \u201cWe need to get to our game right away and get on the forecheck. It\u2019s important to set the tone.\u201d<\/p>\n 3. Helenius’ encore<\/p>\n