The Buffalo Sabres are taking over the Montreal Canadiens within the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That is uncharted territory for each teams, as they have not made it this far in a protracted time. For Buffalo, it has been nearly 20 years. And the coinciding emotion held in by Buffalo fans was released on Wednesday when Josh Doan kicked things off in a giant way.
Doan entered the zone together with his teammates on an odd-man rush. Zach Benson held the puck for an eternity before he finally passed it over to Doan. By that point, the Sabres forward only needed to tap it in behind Jakub Dobes. The Sabres took an enormous 1-0 lead around five or so minutes into the sport.
JOSH DOAN!
The @BuffaloSabres are on the board first in Game 1!
📺: @NHL_On_TNT, @Sportsnet, & @TVASports pic.twitter.com/dYDHwU0Fh2
— NHL (@NHL) May 6, 2026
This goal has been a protracted time coming for Buffalo. Doan has scored the primary playoff goal beyond the primary round since 2007, in keeping with NHL Public Relations. The last Sabres postseason goal scored beyond round one was scored within the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals by forward Maxim Afinogenov.
Buffalo has placed on its shooting boots in Game 1 against the Canadiens. Doan’s goal was succeeded by a Ryan McLeod marker in the primary period. Montreal added one to chop the lead to 1. But within the second period, the Sabres got goals from Jordan Greenway and Bowen Byram to make it a 4-1 game. The Canadiens have since added one other to make it 4-2.
Buffalo is playing to return to the Eastern Conference Finals for the primary time in nearly 20 years. Thus far, things are off to an incredible start. It’ll definitely be interesting to see in the event that they can maintain this momentum moving forward.
The Buffalo Sabres are taking over the Montreal Canadiens within the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. That is uncharted territory for each teams, as they have not made it this far in a protracted time. For Buffalo, it has been nearly 20 years. And the coinciding emotion held in by Buffalo fans was released on Wednesday when Josh Doan kicked things off in a giant way.