Canadiens beat Sabres in Game 5 to move one win from playoff series victory

The Montreal Canadiens moved within one win of eliminating the Buffalo Sabres after a dramatic 6-3 comeback victory in Game 5 at KeyBank Center.

Montreal overcame an early collapse from goaltender Jakub Dobes who allowed three goals on the first four shots before recovering to stop the next 31 attempts.

The Canadiens responded strongly after falling behind three separate times in the opening period.

“I think we just try to not care about what the score is. We try to stay focused with our game,” said Juraj Slafkovsky.

“You’re going to go down, but it’s about how you answer and about how you get back up.”

A major turning point came early in the second period when Dobes denied Buffalo star Tage Thompson on a dangerous break toward goal.

“Huge save. That could’ve probably changed the game in their favour, and he comes up with a huge save,” captain Nick Suzuki said.

Game 6 will take place Saturday at the Bell Centre in Montreal.