Dylan Hoerner Leaps Into Table Before Game 1, Buffalo Sabres Players Watch
Buffalo Sabres players were not the only ones making a scene outside KeyBank Center on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. Fans gathered before Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens, and Dylan Hoerner leaped into a table with a dummy wearing a Canadiens sweater.
KeyBank Center Before Game 1
The pregame crowd turned the sidewalk outside the arena into part of the rivalry. Ian Macuie tackled a dummy wearing a Canadiens sweater, and Alex Pawlik punched the same dummy before the Buffalo Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens began to face off in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Members of the Blade Gang joined in and punched the dummy as well. The scene gave Sabres fans a chance to vent before the first game in the second round, with Montreal supporters watching as Buffalo fans beat up the figure outside KeyBank Center.
Sabres Fans And Canadiens Supporters
Not everyone outside was wearing blue and gold. Cedrick Seguin showed off his “Habs in 4” sweater to Sabres fans, and Braden Lee and other Sabres fans booed Canadiens fans before puck drop.
A Sabres fan also held a beer sabre outside the arena, adding another small detail to a loud and pointed pregame gathering. The mix of chanting, taunting and staged smash-ups made the area around KeyBank Center part of the playoff atmosphere before Game 1 even started.
Dylan Hoerner’s Table Moment
Hoerner’s leap into the table was the sharpest moment in the crowd scene. It captured how far the pregame pageantry went for a fan base waiting for the second-round opener against Montreal, and it set the tone for the rest of the activity outside the building.
For Buffalo supporters heading into Game 1, the message was already visible before the doors opened: the matchup with Montreal had spilled beyond the ice and onto the plaza at KeyBank Center.
