Stanley Cup Playoffs Day 6: Sabres pick up big road win, Senators on the brink of elimination

The Stanley Cup Playoffs are back, which means that for the next two months, we’ll get non-stop action as we witness 16 teams get whittled down to the one that will be crowned as the 2026 Stanley Cup champions. Here at Daily Faceoff, we’ll be keeping you in the loop on everything that happens in the playoffs, every day until the Stanley Cup is hoisted in June.

Thursday night saw a series of pivotal games in the opening round, as underdogs tried to keep things close against the favorites, while a division rivalry continued to boil in New England.

Buffalo bounces back in Boston

After relinquishing home-ice advantage, the Buffalo Sabres knew they needed to come out with a better effort in Game 3 against the Boston Bruins. With a different man between the pipes, they did just that, coming away with a 3-1 road victory, regaining the lead in the series.

The Bruins looked like they weren’t only trying to beat the Sabres on the scoreboard, but in other facets as well. In front of the home fans, Boston was laying the body early and often. Buffalo was trying to hold its own, making Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman work in the first period.

However, it was the B’s who struck first. Just a few minutes into period two, tough guy Tanner Jeannot fired a wrister that fooled Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon, who was making his first start of the playoffs, giving Boston the lead.

The goal didn’t deter the Sabres, as they continued to create opportunities, but Swayman managed to come up with a couple of clutch saves.

The turning point in the game came just before the halfway mark of the middle stanza, when Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin hauled Bruins forward Viktor Arvidsson on a breakaway, giving the veteran a penalty shot. However, Lyon came up with a big save to keep the deficit at one.

The save inspired the team in front of Lyon. Just over a minute later, Bowen Byram one-timed home his second of the series to tie the game. Buffalo carried the momentum into the third, with Alex Tuch ripping a shot around a screen a few minutes into the period, giving the visitors the lead for the first time.

Now trailing, the Bruins started to push the pace. They even had a power play in the waning minutes of regulation. Yet, Lyon and company came up with a huge kill. The 33-year-old continued to stand tall between the pipes, and Noah Ostlund finished the game off with an empty-net goal, giving the Sabres a 2-1 lead in the series.

Byram and Ostlund both had a pair of points in the win. Lyon earned his second career postseason victory thanks to a 24-save performance.

Swayman was credited with 25 stops in the losing effort. Both teams’ power plays failed to step up on Thursday. Buffalo went 0-for-5 on the man advantage, though the last power play came with nine seconds to go in the game. Boston went 0-for-4 in Game 3.

Hurricanes hang on for commanding lead

There was a sense that the Ottawa Senators would ride a boisterous home crowd as their Metropolitan Division Semifinal moved north of the border for the first time. Yet, despite another gutsy effort against the Eastern Conference’s top seed, the Senators came up short, losing to the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1, and are on the brink of elimination.

While Ottawa wanted to make an impact in its first home game of the playoffs, it was Carolina who got out in front. Just past the five-minute mark of the opening period, Logan Stankoven scored his third goal of the series after a great play from Taylor Hall.

Stankoven became just the third player in NHL postseason history to score a goal in each of the first three games of the series, joining Hockey Hall of Famers George Armstrong and Steve Yzerman.

Things went from bad to worse for the Sens. Near the halfway mark of the second period, defenseman Jake Sanderson blocked a shot with his left hand. Then, later in the shift, the 23-year-old took a high hit from Hall. Sanderson was seen walking down the tunnel as the Sens were about to embark on a 5-on-3 power play. He didn’t return for the remainder of the game, with head coach Travis Green later citing the initial hit from Hall as the reason for Sanderson’s exit.

At first, it didn’t seem like Sanderson’s absence had any ill effect on the Sens. With just a few minutes to go in the second, Nick Cousins fed Drake Batherson, who beat Frederik Andersen for his second of the series, tying the game at one.

However, the good feelings in Ottawa didn’t last. Just over a minute later, a beautiful setup from Hall and K’Andre Miller led to Jackson Blake scoring an easy goal, putting Carolina back out in front.

The Sens attempted a comeback, but the Hurricanes’ defense was exceptional, limiting scoring chances. They limited Ottawa to just seven shots in the final 20 minutes, grabbing another one-goal win.

It was another demoralizing loss for the Senators. While they didn’t outplay the Canes by any stretch, the fact that they were one shot away from sending things to overtime once again, after goaltender Linus Ullmark played another terrific game, has to sting.

Ulmark made 25 saves in the loss, while Andersen came up with 21 stops. Neither team could score on the power play: Ottawa went 0-for-5, with Carolina going 0-for-4.

Kings play hard, but Avalanche prevail

The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche went into Hollywood for Game 3 of its Central Division Semifinal and was met with a promising effort from the Los Angeles Kings. Yet, the Avalanche pulled out a 4-2 win, taking a 3-0 lead in the series.

The Avalanche tried to insert the seed of doubt into the Kings early, as Gabriel Landeskog threw a shot toward goal that somehow snuck by Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg for his second tally of the series to put the visitors out in front a little after the five-minute mark of the frame.

However, the Kings didn’t look like the inferior team that they had been for long stretches in Denver. They outshot Colorado in the first period, 12-7, making Scott Wedgewood work throughout the contest.

Los Angeles finally broke through in the opening minutes of the second stanza, with Quinton Byfield creating a chance that led to Trevor Moore redirecting in his first of the postseason.

Yet, the Avs were undeterred. Later on in the second, a seeing-eye shot from Cale Makar put Colorado in the lead for the second time. In the opening half of the third, the Kings received a fortunate power play and a great chance to tie the game once again. However, the energy was nearly sucked out of Crypto.com Arena when Artturi Lehkonen scored a shorthanded goal, with the puck deflecting off Kings forward Adrian Kempe, giving the Avalanche a two-goal lead.

Kempe got a little bit of retribution late in regulation, as his first goal of the playoffs, on the power play, cut the deficit to one once again. However, that was as close as the Kings got. An empty-net goal from Brock Nelson sealed the victory.

Lehkonen led the Avalanche with two points, while Alex Laferriere posted two assists for the Kings.

There’s some concern for Avs defenseman Josh Manson, who, according to the team, was being evaluated for an upper-body injury. He played less than five minutes in the victory.

The Kings outshot the Avs 26-23, but Wedgewood was there on almost each and every turn, making 24 saves. Forsberg made 19 saves in the losing effort.