Sabres’ Lindy Ruff calls out culprit behind Game 3 downfall vs. Canadiens

The Buffalo Sabres won Game 1 of their series against the Montreal Canadiens in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, things have gone downhill ever since. Buffalo scored the first goal in Game 3, but they let the game fall away from them. The Canadiens won Game 3, and Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff believes he has an idea of what’s gone wrong.

“Ruff says puck decisions haven’t been good, says the discipline has not been good. Says he might not agree with every call but they need to be better in that area,” Buffalo Sabres radio host Brian Koziol reported on Sunday night.

The Sabres head coach is certainly not discrediting the Habs, though. He gave them their flowers for how they have played throughout this series. “Montreal is a good team, they made us pay for our decisions,” he said, via Koziol.

Buffalo had some brutal turnover issues in Game 2. Notably, a Tage Thompson in the third period of Game 2 led directly to an Alexandre Carrier goal that killed all of the Sabres’ momentum. Those issues where once again evident against the Habs in Montreal on Sunday.

The Sabres also didn’t get a great effort out of goaltender Alex Lyon. The veteran netminder allowed five goals all series once he took over against the Boston Bruins in round one. In this series, he has allowed 12 goals in three games.

Buffalo can still find their way back in this series. However, there is a lot of work left to do. The Sabres take to the ice on Tuesday night for Game 4 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

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