3 Reasons the Canadiens Can Win: 3 Reasons Sabres Will

This second-round series is playoff candy. It features two young, hungry teams full of speed, skill and a little bit of storyline. Montreal barely survived a wild Game 7 with Tampa (some luck, some grit, and a goalie who looked like he belonged), while Buffalo looked electric and confident down the stretch.

Fans of both teams should expect chaos, pace, and a ton of emotion. It could be an all-timer.

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Why the Canadiens Can Win This Series

Here are three reasons the Habs can actually win this series:

Reason One: The Canadiens goalie has his mojo working.

Jakub Dobes has been unreal. The kid’s been calm, sharp, and is giving Montreal a real chance every night. If he keeps stealing games, you don’t need tons of offence to win tight series.

Reason Two: The Canadiens’ depth shows guts.

The Habs’ depth guys showed up vs. Tampa Bay. Suzuki, Newhook, Guhle and a few role players chipped in big moments. When depth scores and grinders win puck battles, that bails a team out in ugly playoff games.

Reason Three: The Canadiens will employ an old-school game plan.

Montreal defends hard, blocks shots, clears rebounds and makes games ugly. They’ve proven they can grind out results and get weird goals when needed. Against a fast Sabres squad that likes to rush, the Habs can slow it down and force Buffalo to beat them five-on-five.

Why the Sabres Can Win This Series

Reason One: The Sabres have top-end talent and speed.

Buffalo is just flat-out quicker and deeper at forward. When they cycle and attack with their top guys, it creates matchup problems and scoring chances that wear teams down.

Reason Two: The Sabres have more roster versatility.

The Sabres can roll lines, change matchups and have different weapons (power-play pop, transition scoring) that keep opponents off balance. That flexibility matters over seven games.

Reason Three: The Sabres’ special teams can swing the series.

Buffalo’s power play can be lethal when it’s on. If they fix the hiccups from Round 1, their man-advantage could tilt tight games, especially if Montreal struggles to generate chances.

Who I’m leaning toward

I’d like to call this a tie. But, unless Dobes steals games as he did against the Lightning, Buffalo should win. As a Canadian, I love what Montreal did vs. Tampa. And Dobes gives them a real shot. But overall, the Sabres have more high-end firepower and versatility, and that usually matters as a series goes deeper.

Still, expect this to be tight and totally fun. Don’t be shocked if it goes seven and becomes one of those classic East matchups everyone remembers.

Related: Canadiens’ Locker Room: Chaos, Belief, and One Viral Speech