Two games on Tuesday moved the Stanley Cup Playoffs Bracket closer to the conference finals, and both turned on late goals. Buffalo beat Montreal 3-2 in Montreal, while Vegas outlasted Anaheim 3-2 in overtime to take a 3-2 series lead.
Buffalo’s win stole home-ice advantage back from Montreal and put the Sabres in position to seize control of the series in Thursday’s Game 5. Mattias Samuelsson opened the scoring in the first period, before Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield pushed the Canadiens ahead. Tage Thompson answered with the tying goal, and Zach Benson’s power-play goal late in the second period proved to be the difference. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced to finish off the 3-2 victory.
In the West, Vegas and Anaheim had split the first four contests before a game that stayed tight from the opening period to the final overtime shift. Beckett Sennecke scored on the power play for Anaheim, and Pavel Dorofeyev answered with a power-play goal for Vegas in the first period. Tomas Hertl later gave the Golden Knights the lead, but Olen Zellweger tied it for Anaheim with just more than three minutes remaining in regulation. Dorofeyev then scored again in overtime to send Vegas home with the series edge.
Tuesday’s slate had given three teams the chance to move a single win away from the conference finals, and the two results left the path far more precarious for Montreal and Anaheim. The Sabres and Canadiens now look like a best-of-three battle, with Buffalo carrying the momentum into Thursday. For Vegas, the overtime win meant a 3-2 lead after five games that never allowed either side much breathing room.
The turning point in both games came when pressure stopped being theoretical and became a finish. Buffalo had to answer after Montreal took the lead, and Vegas had to survive after Anaheim forced extra time. Both did, and both now hold the sort of narrow edge that can decide a postseason series in a single night.
