Sabres vs. Canadiens - Game 5 | How to watch, lineup notes, and storylines

The Buffalo Sabres return home to host Game 5 of their second-round playoff series with the Montreal Canadiens at KeyBank Center on Thursday at 7 p.m.

The Sabres took care of business with a 3-2 road win in Game 4, evening the series at two wins apiece and setting the stage for a best-of-three finale.

The Game 4 win can be safely slotted in the “gutsy” category – the Sabres killed six penalties, overcame a lengthy review that took a goal off the board and swung momentum, and blocked a playoff-high 27 shots to edge out the victory.

The margins could remain just as thin as both teams, having felt out the other’s tendencies, buckle down to try and earn a trip to the Eastern Conference Final.

“It’s going to be a tight couple games here,” Josh Doan said. “I think we’ve seen a lot of offense through the first four games here, but I’m sure both teams are going to want to slow that down.”

One thing back on the Sabres’ side after splitting their two games in the raucous Bell Centre: home-ice advantage. Along with Thursday’s Game 5, a potential Game 7 would be played here at KeyBank Center next Monday.

“You realize how important home-ice advantage can be,” Doan said of the Montreal experience. “And we can’t be throwing games away at home.”

Here’s what you need to know ahead of puck drop.

• Playoff Central: Sabrehood Block Party, parking information and more

How to watch

TV (national): TNT, truTV

Streaming (national): HBO Max

Radio: WGR 550 / Buffalo Sabres App (Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call)

Pregame and Postgame Shows featuring Brian Duff and Martin Biron will air on MSG and the Sabres App along with the team's X, Facebook and YouTube channels. The pregame show begins at 6:30 p.m.

Lineup notes (updated 11:40 a.m.)

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start again in net after his 29-save win in Game 4.

The Sabres also look to be rolling out the same forward lines and defense pairs. That includes forward Konsta Helenius, who skated 12:53 and had three grade-A scoring chances (one of which led to a goal that was overturned) in his playoff debut, as well as defenseman Luke Schenn, who skated 7:04 and rotated his 5-on-5 minutes with the Sabres’ four left-shot defensemen.

• More on Helenius' confidence in his playoff debut

Conor Timmins is in the lineup after missing the morning skate for maintenance.

Morning media

Jack Quinn on the Sabres’ recent power-play success:

“I think we’ve just found something that’s clicked a little bit. We’ve won some faceoffs, played in the zone a little more. You see teams for a full series and kind of start to get an idea of what you want to do. We’ve been able to execute a few times.”

Peyton Krebs on Luke Schenn’s veteran presence:

“Older guy comes in into a younger group; I’m sure he wasn’t sure what to expect. He’s done a great job of just fitting right in, giving us tidbits here and there to allow us to be successful. And just being a great guy off the ice when he wasn’t playing. I thought he did a great job coming in last game – before the game, adds his piece and gets the guys motivated.”

Lindy Ruff on the keys to better puck play:

“For me, it’s, are you racing for support? And a lot of times, that creates openings in the game. Are you racing for support? Are you racing to get open? Are you hitting the holes that give that guy that opportunity to get a puck to you? It might be in space, it might be tape to tape, but if you’re doing nothing, you’re getting left behind.”

Series statistics

Numbers to know

• Doan leads the Sabres with six points in the series (1+5) and enters Thursday on a five-game assist streak. The last Sabres player to have an assist in six straight playoff games was Alexei Zhitnik in 1999.
• Doan’s plus-5 rating is tied as the best mark in franchise history for a player in his first 10 career playoff games. The others: Matthew Barnaby (1993 to 1997), Paul Gaustad and Derek Roy (2006), and Peyton Krebs (this season).
• Mattias Samuelsson leads playoff defensemen with 42 hits. He’s tied for third in the playoffs in puck battles won, according to Stathletes.

Scouting the Habs

The Canadiens’ resilience has been a strength so far in these playoffs. They’ve yet to lose consecutive games, having alternated wins and losses throughout their seven-game series with the Lightning.

While the Sabres’ penalty kill was up to the task in Game 4, improved discipline will be an area of focus entering Thursday. The Canadiens ranked third in penalties drawn during the regular season and have continued that trend in this series with 20 power plays across the four games.

Several of the Sabres’ penalties have in the last two games have occurred away from the puck, be it interference or high-sticking calls.

“If they have a chance to make the play look worse than it is, they're going to,” Ruff said. “It's playoff hockey. Every team in this league does it.”