Dobson Returns as Canadiens Vs Sabres Opens Round 2
canadiens vs sabres opens with Noah Dobson back in the lineup, and Montreal gets a key defenseman available from the start of Game 1 in Buffalo on Wednesday. The Canadiens reached Round 2 after beating Tampa Bay in seven games, but they did it with Dobson missing six of the seven games.
Dobson Joins Montreal
Dobson skated in Brandon with a rotation of Jayden Struble and Arber Xhekaj before the Canadiens left for Buffalo. Martin St. Louis said his strength is clear in the parts of the ice Montreal will need against the Sabres.
“It’s the strength of his game, transition, breakouts, in the offensive zone,” St. Louis said after practice about Dobson. He added, “I thought he gave us good minutes in Game 7, he made some big plays, even some plays in the defensive zone that helped us.”
That gives Montreal a different look at the back end before the series starts. St. Louis said, “He played a big role for us this season, so to have him right from the start against Buffalo will help us.”
Montreal’s Top Scorers
The Canadiens also need more from Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovský. Suzuki led Montreal with 101 points in the regular season and scored his first goal of the series in Game 7 against Tampa Bay.
Slafkovský opened Round 1 with a hat trick of power-play goals in Game 1 against Tampa, then did not score again. Caufield scored once on the power play in Game 4, and the trio produced only one five-on-five goal in the series.
St. Louis said, “When the team’s winning, you don’t really care about your stat line,” and followed with, “You move on, you start over, you keep building your game.”
Buffalo Demands More
Montreal’s path through Tampa Bay was built on details St. Louis wants repeated. He said, “I thought we protected the inner slot really well,” and added, “Our commitment to blocking shots, just a lot of hard actions, hits, we were very physical.”
That same edge will be needed in Buffalo, where the Sabres bring a deeper scoring threat than Montreal just faced. The Canadiens have a healthier blue line for Game 1, but they still have to turn that into cleaner exits and more finish from their top line if they want the series to swing their way early.
