Call of the Wilde: Buffalo Sabers even series, Montreal Canadiens edge 3-2 – Montreal

The Buffalo Sabers weren’t happy with Game 3 of their Atlantic Division Finals, so they made some big changes for Game 4.

Portal was the biggest change, as Alex Lyon was moved to the bench in favor of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Also in the press box was Sam Carrick for Konsta Helenius at center, and in defense Luke Schenn came on for Logan Stanley.

Of the lineup changes, Helenius had the biggest impact. The Sabers evened the series with a 3-2 victory.

Wild horses

Luukkonen was one of the best goaltenders on the field, but in the playoffs, he was just a .825 save percentage through the first two games. He’s been waiting for redemption since losing his spot thanks to allowing a 100-foot field goal against the Boston Bruins.

However, there was an early moment in the first half that seemed to struggle. The long shot came from the spot at only medium speed and he could neither catch nor control the ball. Moments later, Mike Matheson hit the post.

The two goals he then allowed in the first had the same stamp of difficulty. Although Alex Newhook’s shot was close, it was through him. Not a brutal goal to allow, but the Sabers could have used a save. Newhook is having a spectacular playoff run thus far, with six goals to lead the team.

The second goal was another that Luukkonen should not have allowed. The modern goaltender uses a reverse VH as a method to stop any close shots that stay on the ice. These days, goalkeepers will allow the shot intended for the top corner over the shoulder.

The thinking in goalkeeping circles is that the shot under the crossbar is the most difficult shot to take, so put away the hardest shot by making sure the shot never goes in. On the power play, Cole Caufield came in from the corner. He had zero chance to score, if Luukkonen maintains his reverse VH.

In the excitement and anxiety of the moment, he forgot his training: Luukkonen opened his legs and Caufield scored from an impossible angle. Caufield was ecstatic. His difficulties are becoming a thing of the past in his mind. It was his third of the playoffs.

Caufield was buzzing the rest of the night and was the Canadiens’ leading scorer.

Wild goats

When Jack Quinn scored the Sabres’ second goal eight minutes into the first period, it looked bleak. The Canadians were being outshot 8-1 and were coming off a bad start. However, something happened on the way to that 2-0 goal.

Head coach Martin St. Louis decided to put it all on the line. He believed there was goalkeeper interference. The ball had crossed the line by just an inch and it had already taken five minutes to decide if it was in. St. Louis didn’t like the first decision, but he made the decision he needed the second time. Instead of 2-0 and the Canadian penalty, it was 1-0.

Perhaps even more than the overturned goal was that the Canadians spent 10 minutes on their bench assessing how it had gone so far. The Canadians were flat. The Sabers had made adjustments by holding the ball longer as defenders tried to block shots, then eventually took themselves out of the game.

Montreal was very much second best, except for the boost they got from that callback. Somehow, the Canadiens played their worst hockey since Game 7 against Tampa Bay, yet they led 2-1 after one. They weren’t sharp, but they were leading.

However, the momentum shift in the first period was nothing compared to that in the second frame. The Sabers were in the game when Tage Thompson fired it off the glass from 70 yards. It ricocheted off the Zamboni’s entrance and hit Dobes in the back of the leg.

Anyone who knows that stain on glass knows the trouble it brings. It’s shocking how often the puck gets redirected from that spot on the net. The Sabers had the tying goal. Hockey gives and hockey takes away.

The third period would decide the night after two that was Buffalo’s game analytically. They had a huge advantage in expected goals after 40 minutes 3.58 to 2.24. The Sabers led in high-danger chances eight to three.

They hung on in the third period on a night they deserved the result. Zach Benson scored on the power play for the game winner. This series is tied at four games as the Tampa Bay series. It’s not supposed to be easy in the playoffs, and it certainly isn’t.

Wilde Cards

The NHL handed out some interesting fines on the off days between games. Interestingly, fines are clearly imposed based on the extent of injury or media attention, rather than the actual offense.

Arber Xhekaj received about the same fine as Beck Malenstyn for their two violent moments in Game 3. Xhekaj and Sam Carrick were looking at each other when Xhekaj punched Carrick and he went down like a giant oak tree.

The optics of this didn’t look good to the NHL, so Xhekaj was fined, even though that kind of punch, like it or not, happens 30 times a game. Carrick just has a glass chin. If Jack ever lands on Carrick with a real punch and not a short jab, Carrick may not get back up.

Malenstyn’s penalty was for charging full speed into the net to handle Dobes like a bowling pin. It’s lucky that Dobes is so big, because this could have caused serious injury if it wasn’t. Judging by the sight of Malenstyn’s skates making no turns to stop, injury was the goal.

Between the two moments, one happens once in the playoffs and the other happens after almost every whistle, but they were fined the same.

The incident that the ironically named Department of Player Safety did not prosecute at all is Josh Norris hitting Zachary Bolduc while he was in a fight with another player and was restrained by the sergeant.

Ottawa Senators forward Ridly Greig hit a defenseless foe in the Carolina series, which was exactly what Norris did. Grieg received a two-game suspension.

One would want to play those two NHL clips back-to-back to ask why Greig got two games and Norris got the second center spot for Game 4.

Brian Wilde, a Montreal-based sports writer, brings you in after every Canadiens game.

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