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BUF @ MTL

May 31, 2026

34–51 minutes

FINAL Series tied 3-3 NHL · May 17, 12:00 AM UTC · Final

BUF @ MTL

Bell Centre · Montreal, QC

Buffalo Sabres8

Montreal Canadiens3

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Final GameCast

Final score, key plays, top performers, and full tables stay one tap apart for quick review.

Final

Box ScorePlayer tables ready Key PlaysScoring swings ready Game ReadMatchup context PlayersNames to watch

Top Performers

Rasmus Dahlin1 G, 4 A, 2 PIM
Tage Thompson1 G, 3 A
Jack Quinn2 G, 1 A

Key Plays

Go-ahead goal4-3Jack Quinn Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: Rasmus Dahlin (7), Tage Thompson (9)2nd · 10:54
Tied it3-3Zach Benson Goal (5) Backhand, assists: Tage Thompson (8), Bowen Byram (3)2nd · 1:00
Go-ahead goal1-2Ivan Demidov Goal (2) Slap Shot, assists: Lane Hutson (11), Cole Caufield (5)1st · 8:12
Go-ahead goal1-0Rasmus Dahlin Goal (3) Backhand, assists: Mattias Samuelsson (3), Zach Benson (4)1st · 0:32

Box Score

Top Performers

Rasmus Dahlin Value card Buffalo Sabres · Defenses 1 G, 4 A, 2 PIM

Tage Thompson Value card Buffalo Sabres · Forwards 1 G, 3 A

Jack Quinn Value card Buffalo Sabres · Forwards 2 G, 1 A

Zach Benson Value card Buffalo Sabres · Forwards 1 G, 1 A, 10 PIM

Fantasy Signals

Rasmus Dahlin 100

Buffalo Sabres · Defenses 1 G · 4 A · 3 SOG · 19:56 TOI

Goal, assist production, multi-point game.

Tage Thompson 100

Buffalo Sabres · Forwards 1 G · 3 A · 6 SOG · 18:14 TOI

Goal, assist production, multi-point game.

Jack Quinn 100

Buffalo Sabres · Forwards 2 G · 1 A · 3 SOG · 18:18 TOI

Goal, assist production, multi-point game.

Zach Benson 100

Buffalo Sabres · Forwards 1 G · 1 A · 6 SOG · 20:04 TOI

Goal, assist production, multi-point game.

Jason Zucker 84

Buffalo Sabres · Forwards 1 G · 1 A · 2 SOG · 13:29 TOI

Goal, assist production, multi-point game.

Jake Evans 84

Montreal Canadiens · Forwards 1 G · 1 A · 1 SOG · 16:13 TOI

Goal, assist production, multi-point game.

Final NotesScore, top line, and support lines

Final frame: Buffalo Sabres beat Montreal Canadiens 8-3.
Top line: Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres) — 1 G, 4 A, 2 PIM.
Support line: Tage Thompson (Buffalo Sabres) — 1 G, 3 A.
Support line: Jack Quinn (Buffalo Sabres) — 2 G, 1 A.

HighlightsScoring plays from the feed

GoalZach Metsa Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Ryan McLeod (3), Rasmus Dahlin (10)3rd · 17:498–3
GoalTage Thompson Goal (5) Snap Shot, assists: none3rd · 14:127–3
GoalJack Quinn Goal (2) Slap Shot, assists: Tage Thompson (10), Rasmus Dahlin (9)3rd · 9:586–3
GoalKonsta Helenius Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: Jason Zucker (2), Rasmus Dahlin (8)2nd · 12:595–3

Scoring by Period

Team	P1	P2	P3	T
Buffalo Sabres	2	3	3	8
Montreal Canadiens	3	0	0	3

Team StatsBuffalo Sabres vs Montreal Canadiens

Buffalo Sabres	Stat	Montreal Canadiens
4	PPG	1
32	PIM	58
34	FO Won	22
19	Hits	31
3	Takeaways	5

Buffalo Sabres player box 20 player rows – 3 stat groups – Forwards / Defenses / Goalies Show full tableHide table

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards#

Zach Benson LW 1G1A3+/-6S
Josh Doan RW 0G0A0+/-2S
Jordan Greenway LW 0G0A-1+/-0S
Konsta Helenius C 1G0A1+/-2S
Peyton Krebs C 0G0A-1+/-0S
Beck Malenstyn LW 0G0A-1+/-1S
Ryan McLeod C 0G1A0+/-1S
Josh Norris C 0G1A1+/-2S
Jack Quinn RW 2G1A1+/-3S
Tage Thompson C 1G3A3+/-6S
Alex Tuch RW 0G0A-1+/-4S
Jason Zucker LW 1G1A0+/-2S

Player	BS	HT	TK	+/-	TOI	PPTOI	SHTOI	ESTOI	SHFT	G	YTDG	A	S	SM	SOG	FW	FL	FO%	GV	PN	PIM
Forwards
Zach Benson Value card LW	2	1	0	3	20:04	3:53	0:41	15:30	27	1	5	1	6	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	1	10
Josh Doan Value card RW	0	1	0	0	16:31	3:30	0:00	13:01	22	0	3	0	2	1	0	2	0	100.0	0	0	0
Jordan Greenway Value card LW	1	1	0	-1	8:15	0:00	2:24	5:51	13	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	50.0	2	0	0
Konsta Helenius Value card C	2	0	0	1	12:36	0:00	0:00	12:36	19	1	2	0	2	1	0	3	3	50.0	0	0	0
Peyton Krebs Value card C	0	1	0	-1	6:25	0:00	0:00	6:25	13	0	2	0	0	0	0	3	3	50.0	1	2	12
Beck Malenstyn Value card LW	0	1	1	-1	8:22	0:00	2:27	5:55	12	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	1	0	0
Ryan McLeod Value card C	1	0	0	0	21:56	1:54	2:30	17:32	29	0	1	1	1	1	0	11	7	61.1	1	0	0
Josh Norris Value card C	0	3	0	1	15:27	2:13	0:00	13:14	25	0	1	1	2	0	0	11	6	64.7	0	2	4
Jack Quinn Value card RW	1	1	1	1	18:18	4:00	0:00	14:18	25	2	2	1	3	1	0	0	0	0.0	1	0	0
Tage Thompson Value card C	0	3	0	3	18:14	4:17	0:00	13:57	26	1	5	3	6	4	0	2	2	50.0	2	0	0
Alex Tuch Value card RW	1	1	1	-1	19:10	2:20	0:56	15:54	26	0	4	0	4	0	0	1	0	100.0	1	1	2
Jason Zucker Value card LW	0	1	0	0	13:29	1:52	0:00	11:37	21	1	2	1	2	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0

Defenses#

Bowen Byram D 0G1A1+/-2S
Rasmus Dahlin D 1G4A2+/-3S
Zach Metsa D 1G0A-1+/-1S
Owen Power D 0G0A1+/-0S
Mattias Samuelsson D 0G1A1+/-1S
Conor Timmins D 0G0A1+/-0S

Player	BS	HT	TK	+/-	TOI	PPTOI	SHTOI	ESTOI	SHFT	G	YTDG	A	S	SM	SOG	FW	FL	FO%	GV	PN	PIM
Defense
Bowen Byram Value card D	1	3	0	1	19:53	2:08	0:00	17:45	24	0	4	1	2	0	0	0	0	0.0	3	0	0
Rasmus Dahlin Value card D	0	0	0	2	19:56	3:23	0:00	16:33	25	1	3	4	3	0	0	0	0	0.0	1	1	2
Zach Metsa Value card D	1	0	0	-1	12:19	0:33	0:17	11:29	15	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
Owen Power Value card D	2	1	0	1	22:22	0:57	2:17	19:08	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	2	0	0
Mattias Samuelsson Value card D	1	1	0	1	22:53	0:00	2:12	20:41	27	0	3	1	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
Conor Timmins Value card D	5	0	0	1	17:26	0:00	4:12	13:14	19	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0.0	3	0	0

Goalies#

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen G 49:41TOI0GA18SA0SOS
Alex Lyon G 10:14TOI3GA4SA0SOS

Player	GA	SA	SOS	SOSA	SV	SV%	ESSV	PPSV	SHSV	TOI	YTDG	PIM
Goalies
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen Value card G	0	18	0	0	18	1.000	15	3	0	49:41	0	0
Alex Lyon Value card G	3	4	0	0	1	.250	1	0	0	10:14	0	0

Montreal Canadiens player box 20 player rows – 3 stat groups – Forwards / Defenses / Goalies Show full tableHide table

Montreal Canadiens

Forwards#

Josh Anderson RW 0G0A0+/-1S
Zack Bolduc RW 0G0A-1+/-0S
Cole Caufield RW 0G1A-1+/-2S
Kirby Dach C 0G0A-1+/-2S
Phillip Danault C 0G0A-1+/-0S
Ivan Demidov RW 1G0A0+/-5S
Jake Evans C 1G1A1+/-1S
Alex Newhook C 0G0A-1+/-3S
Juraj Slafkovsky LW 0G0A-1+/-3S
Nick Suzuki C 0G0A-1+/-2S
Alexandre Texier LW 0G0A-2+/-0S
Joe Veleno C 0G0A0+/-0S

Player	BS	HT	TK	+/-	TOI	PPTOI	SHTOI	ESTOI	SHFT	G	YTDG	A	S	SM	SOG	FW	FL	FO%	GV	PN	PIM
Forwards
Josh Anderson Value card RW	0	1	1	0	14:03	0:00	3:09	10:54	21	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	1	1	2
Zack Bolduc Value card RW	0	7	0	-1	13:39	0:47	0:00	12:52	17	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
Cole Caufield Value card RW	0	0	0	-1	16:01	3:26	0:00	12:35	18	0	4	1	2	2	0	0	0	0.0	1	0	0
Kirby Dach Value card C	0	3	0	-1	11:24	1:03	0:00	10:21	16	0	4	0	2	0	0	1	2	33.3	0	1	10
Phillip Danault Value card C	1	3	0	-1	12:06	0:00	1:30	10:36	20	0	0	0	0	1	0	3	11	21.4	0	1	2
Ivan Demidov Value card RW	0	0	1	0	17:14	3:42	0:00	13:32	18	1	2	0	5	1	0	0	0	0.0	1	0	0
Jake Evans Value card C	1	1	0	1	16:13	0:00	3:59	12:14	20	1	2	1	1	0	0	8	6	57.1	0	2	12
Alex Newhook Value card C	1	2	0	-1	16:32	0:39	2:06	13:47	22	0	6	0	3	0	0	1	3	25.0	0	0	0
Juraj Slafkovsky Value card LW	1	0	0	-1	17:46	3:37	0:00	14:09	19	0	4	0	3	1	0	0	0	0.0	2	0	0
Nick Suzuki Value card C	0	2	0	-1	19:20	3:47	0:44	14:49	21	0	4	0	2	1	0	9	11	45.0	0	0	0
Alexandre Texier Value card LW	0	1	0	-2	13:04	0:41	0:00	12:23	20	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	1	0	0
Joe Veleno Value card C	0	2	0	0	9:59	0:00	0:57	9:02	13	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0.0	0	0	0

Defenses#

Alexandre Carrier D 0G0A-2+/-0S
Noah Dobson D 0G0A0+/-1S
Kaiden Guhle D 0G0A0+/-0S
Lane Hutson D 0G1A0+/-1S
Mike Matheson D 0G1A-2+/-0S
Arber Xhekaj D 1G0A0+/-1S

Player	BS	HT	TK	+/-	TOI	PPTOI	SHTOI	ESTOI	SHFT	G	YTDG	A	S	SM	SOG	FW	FL	FO%	GV	PN	PIM
Defense
Alexandre Carrier Value card D	0	0	0	-2	17:32	0:00	2:40	14:52	27	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	2	12
Noah Dobson Value card D	1	2	0	0	25:22	0:17	1:33	23:32	27	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	2	0	0
Kaiden Guhle Value card D	0	0	1	0	19:27	0:00	3:41	15:46	22	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0
Lane Hutson Value card D	2	1	2	0	24:28	4:12	0:42	19:34	27	0	2	1	1	4	0	0	0	0.0	2	1	2
Mike Matheson Value card D	1	3	0	-2	22:05	0:14	3:47	18:04	29	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	1	4
Arber Xhekaj Value card D	1	3	0	0	7:12	0:00	0:00	7:12	9	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.0	0	2	12

Goalies#

Jacob Fowler G 8:23TOI1GA2SA0SOS
Jakub Dobes G 49:58TOI6GA33SA0SOS

Player	GA	SA	SOS	SOSA	SV	SV%	ESSV	PPSV	SHSV	TOI	YTDG	PIM
Goalies
Jacob Fowler Value card G	1	2	0	0	1	.500	1	0	0	8:23	0	0
Jakub Dobes Value card G	6	33	0	0	27	.818	19	6	2	49:58	0	2

Keep following: Today’s scores·Player values·Morning Line

Key Plays

Scoring and Swing Plays

Scoring, late-game swings, and high-leverage moments from the game feed.

Goal · 3rd · 18:37Goalie Stopped8–3
Goal · 3rd · 17:49Zach Metsa Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Ryan McLeod (3), Rasmus Dahlin (10)8–3
Goal · 3rd · 14:12Tage Thompson Goal (5) Snap Shot, assists: none7–3
Goal · 3rd · 13:42Goalie Stopped6–3
Goal · 3rd · 12:33Puck Frozen – Goalie6–3
Go-ahead goal · 2nd · 10:54Jack Quinn Goal (1) Slap Shot, assists: Rasmus Dahlin (7), Tage Thompson (9)4–3
Tied it · 2nd · 1:00Zach Benson Goal (5) Backhand, assists: Tage Thompson (8), Bowen Byram (3)3–3
Go-ahead goal · 1st · 8:12Ivan Demidov Goal (2) Slap Shot, assists: Lane Hutson (11), Cole Caufield (5)1–2
Tied it · 1st · 1:40Arber Xhekaj Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Jake Evans (6)1–1
Go-ahead goal · 1st · 0:32Rasmus Dahlin Goal (3) Backhand, assists: Mattias Samuelsson (3), Zach Benson (4)1–0

Game Read

A transparent matchup read built from team strength, recent scoreboard history, league volatility, and available starter/bullpen context. It is analysis, not betting advice.

Night GameIndoor8:00 PM ETGoalies: Alex Lyon vs Jakub Dobes

Result readBuffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres 8 · Montreal Canadiens 3

Final

Buffalo Sabres57-38+0.5 net/g (schedule-adjusted +0.6) · expected win rate 58% · last 10: 50%

Montreal Canadiens56-40+0.3 net/g (schedule-adjusted +0.4) · expected win rate 55% · last 10: 60%

Home VenueBell CentreHome adjustment: +1.7 rating points

Buffalo Sabres gets the nod thanks to Buffalo Sabres’s margin advantage, with Montreal Canadiens’s recent run providing the second tip. Goalie SV% over the last five starts is the variable my margin number can't fully price.

Rafty’s call: ✗ WRONG
Pre-game pick: Montreal Canadiens at 57%. Actual: Buffalo Sabres by 5.

Model: rafty-v2.0. Inputs: expected win rate from points-for vs. points-allowed, schedule-adjusted margin, recent form, rest, home venue, league volatility, and MLB starter/bullpen context when available. Refreshes whenever game pages republish.

Interactive Rafty tool

Rafty Game Lab

Move the context sliders to see how Rafty’s matchup lean reacts before it becomes a public pick.

rafty-v2.0

Current lean Montreal Canadiens

51% Montreal Canadiens win probability 51%

Move a control to see what would swing the pick.

Why This Pick?

Montreal Canadiens: Home venue+1.7
Buffalo Sabres: Team baseline-0.6

Model check

Live model: Montreal Canadiens 51%

v3 candidate: Montreal Canadiens 54%

Same pick; home probability +2.3 pp, confidence +2.3 pp

Buffalo Sabres: away pythag -0.11
Montreal Canadiens: home pythag +0.08
Montreal Canadiens: away rest hours capped +0.07

Preview v3 controls

Scenario presets

Home venue edge+1.7 pts

Slide to test a quieter or louder home setting.

Recent-form swing+0.0 pts

Negative helps the away team; positive helps the home team.

Goalie context

Alex Lyon vs Jakub Dobes

Bullpen rest

Available when the model has rest/fatigue context.

For entertainment and analysis only. This tool does not use betting odds, spreads, parlays, or wagering advice.

Key Players to Watch

Buffalo Sabres

Tage Thompson C · #72
Rasmus Dahlin D · #26
Alex Tuch RW · #89
Ryan McLeod C · #71

Montreal Canadiens

Game Leaders

Buffalo SabresJack Quinn2

Montreal CanadiensIvan Demidov1

Injury Report

Montreal Canadiens

Patrik LaineInjured Reserve

Buffalo Sabres

Jiri KulichInjured ReserveNoah OstlundOutJustin DanforthInjured Reserve

On The Ice

Lines and pairings sketched from the active roster. Click a player to open their profile.

Buffalo Sabres

Montreal Canadiens

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