The Sabres are walking the plank at the Bell Centre on Saturday.
Jakub Dobes #75 of the Montreal Canadiens tends goal against the Buffalo Sabres in Game Five of the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at KeyBank Center on May 14, 2026 in Buffalo, New York.
Montreal won, 6-3. The Sabres are walking the plank at the Bell Centre on Saturday, and it’s safe to expect another heavy dosage of high-octane Montreal’s 6-3 victory in Game 5 wasn’t pretty by any means. The Canadiens fell down 3-2 in the first period with Buffalo having buried three of its first four shots on Montreal goaltender Jakub Dobes. Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis resisted the urge to yank Dobes, who has played all 11 postseason games.
That turned out to be the right decision: Dobes’ critical save on Tage Thompson early in the second period proved to be what St. Louis hailed as the game’s turning point. From there, the Habs neutralized the Sabres’ momentum and scored three unanswered goals to take a 5-3 lead into the dressing room. Dobes stopped the remaining 32 shots he faced, improving his Goals Saved Above Expected in these playoffs to 8.1 — third-best amongst goaltenders.
Battling back after a shaky start on the road was the toughest test the 24-year-old netminder has faced to date in these playoffs. He’s done all you can ask of a young goalie in his debut playoff campaign, including the bonus of staring down a future Hall-of-Fame goalie in Andrei Vasilevsky in the first round.
While Buffalo scrambles to figure out their goaltending situation to save their season, Dobes and the Canadiens are pegged as hefty -160 favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook. Montreal has proved it’s a tough son of a gun to beat twice in a row, improving to 5-0 following a loss in these playoffs. With the momentum of a home crowd and an edge in high-danger scoring chances, I’m skittish to fade the Habs for value in a wonky series.
Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes stops Buffalo Sabres forward Jason Zucker during the second period in game four of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre. They are 4-1 on the road this postseason and remain the better ranking team in both expected goals and shot attempt differential at five-on-five in these playoffs. I’m expecting the Sabres to throw the kitchen sink at Dobes.
Their shot generation doesn’t come from just one line: Jason Zucker, Josh Doan, and Konsta Helenius all scored in the first period of Game 5, while the Zach Benson-Josh Norris-Josh Doan line dominated play at five-on-five. With Montreal’s top line getting buried territorially by Buffalo’s Norris matchup to the tune of a 29-12 shot-attempt advantage for the Sabres on Thursday, Buffalo proved it can consistently create looks on net even while losing.
The Sabres have averaged a top-five mark of 29.9 shots on goal in the playoffs, so volume isn’t a concern. When those pucks do get to Dobes, he’ll answer the bell as he carries a high-danger save percentage of 92.7 percent in this series. His save prop Over/Under is set at 24.5 — a line he’s cleared in three games through this series and seven of 11 in the playoffs.
St. Louis’ confidence in Dobes has been rewarded so far, and ours will be too in a major career moment for the stoic netminder. Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.
Please follow us on Google to support us Sports NHL Buffalo Sabres Montreal Canadiens Nhl Betting Nhl Playoffs Sports Picks Stanley Cup Playoffs
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sabres vs. Canadiens Game 5 prediction: NHL odds, picks, best bet for Stanley Cup playoffsThe pendulum swings in a best-of-seven series in the Stanley Cup playoffs, especially a tight one, are profound.
Read more »
Sabres vs Canadiens Prediction, Picks & Odds for Saturday's NHL Playoffs Game 6Free Sabres vs. Canadiens predictions and NHL picks for Game 6 on Saturday, May 16.
Read more »
Sabres vs. Canadiens Prediction, Odds, Best Prop Bet for NHL Playoffs Game 6The Montreal Canadiens return home with a chance to close out their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. Buffalo w
Read more »
Sabres vs Canadiens Props & NHL Playoffs Game 6 Best BetsLane Hutson has 10 assists in his past 12 games. Hutson highlights our Game 6 NHL player props when the Sabres visit the Canadiens.
Read more »