Captain Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans scored 68 seconds apart late in the second period, and the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-3 to take a 3-2 lead in their second-round playoff series.

Alex Newhook had two goals, again providing Montreal with some much-needed secondary scoring, and the Canadiens beat the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 to even their second-round playoff series at one game apiece.

Bowen Byram and Ryan McLeod scored on consecutive power-play opportunities in reviving Buffalo’s anemic special-teams unit, and the Sabres defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

Rasmus Dahlin arrived in Buffalo as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2018 NHL draft wanting to be part of the revival for a city rabid about a Sabres team that hadn’t been to playoffs in the six years before his arrival.

Alex Tuch and Mattias Samuelsson scored in the first period, Zach Benson added another early in the third and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Friday night in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 2007.

David Pastrnak scored on a breakaway 9:14 into overtime, and the Boston Bruins avoided elimination with a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

Bowen Byram scored a minute after Boston missed a penalty shot, and Alex Tuch broke a third-period tie to help Buffalo come from behind and beat the Bruins 3-1.

Bring on postseason hockey in Buffalo.

Coach Kris Knoblauch is not sure whether Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard will start in goal for the Edmonton Oilers when they face elimination in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers.

The NHL sent a memo to teams last week clarifying what players can and cannot do as part of theme celebrations this season, including a ban on the use of rainbow-colored stick tape for Pride nights.

Two games into the Stanley Cup Final, the Florida Panthers look like an 8 seed for the first time all playoffs.

Brandon Montour scored twice and the Florida Panthers had four third-period goals to beat the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins 6-3 on Wednesday night and send Boston to its first loss in 10 games.

Brad Marchand scored his 50th career playoff goal, David Pastrnak and Jake DeBrusk also scored, and the NHL-best Boston Bruins opened the playoffs by beating the Florida Panthers 3-1.

Alex Lyon’s goaltending resume is no joke.

Conor Sheary scored the overtime winner and the short-handed Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 to guarantee they’ll open the playoffs at home.

Alex Ovechkin scored twice to move within one goal of Marcel Dionne for fifth place on the NHL’s career goals list as the Washington Capitals downed the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3.

Buffalo Sabres celebrate a goal by center Curtis Lazar (27) during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers in Buffalo, N.Y., Wednesday, March 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)BUFFALO, N.Y. – Embarrassment for Brandon Montour and the Buffalo Sabres turned into relief on Wednesday night. The Sabres ended their 18-game skid — the NHL’s longest in 17 years — with a resounding 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. AdThe Sabres also snapped a 0-9-2 home skid, one short of matching a franchise record set during the 1990-91 season. After Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov scored 3:50 into the second period, Buffalo responded by closing the period with goals from Fogarty and Casey Mittelstadt.