BUFFALO – Having just played his first six postseason games, Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin developed a feel for the demands and rigors of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The media, the ultra-talented defenseman said, blew things up. After the Sabres’ first-round victory over the Boston Bruins, he said he realized the postseason “is just hockey.”
“But the level is a little raised and the compete is raised,” said Dahlin, one of 14 Sabres who made his postseason debut in the series.
In disposing of the Bruins and winning their first series in 19 years, a group of playoff neophytes illustrated they possess the talent and maturity to compete at this time of the year.
Coach Lindy Ruff, whose Sabres begin their best-of-seven second-round series on Wednesday at home against the Montreal Canadiens, said his players “can manage the emotions of a series.”
“We’ve become a pretty damn resilient team,” he said Monday in KeyBank Center.
After losing Game 2 at home, they won the next two contests in Boston to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. After falling 2-1 in overtime in Game 5 and failing to finish off the Bruins at home, they closed it out on the road in Game 6.
The Sabres quickly responded to any disappointment.
“Imagine the noise in this building if you score the overtime goal and you clinch the series, and we didn’t,” Ruff said. “And then you got to deal with this emotion after you didn’t get it done going into the visiting building, and that building was pretty charged up.”
The Sabres and Canadiens know each other well, having played four times during the regular season.
The speedy teams closely mirror each other.
The longtime Atlantic Division rivals split the season series, each going 1-1-0 at home and on the road. Both teams scored 13 goals.
The Sabres finished the regular season with 109 points, three more than the Canadiens. The Sabres also outscored the Canadiens (283 and 279 goals, the fifth- and seventh ranked offenses, respectively) and allowed fewer goals (240 and 251, the 11th- and 17th-ranked defenses, respectively).
“We know them, they know us, so it’ll be a battle,” Dahlin said. “It comes down to compete. It comes down to who wants it more every shift. Puck battles, box-outs, stuff like that. It’s going to be so tight.”
The Canadiens just won the tightest of series over the Tampa Bay Lightning. One goal decided each of the seven contests. Four went to overtime.
They advanced by winning 2-1 on Sunday in Tampa Bay despite mustering just nine shots on goal, the fewest ever in a playoff win. They registered zero shots in the second period.
“Sometimes it doesn’t look real pretty, but you got to find ways to win games in the playoffs, and they won Game 7,” Ruff said.
While the Canadiens scored just 16 goals in the series, they possess some of the NHL’s most prolific scorers. The trio of center Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky rank among the league’s most dynamic.
Suzuki recorded 101 points during the regular season. Caufield scored 51 goals, a total that trailed only Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon’s 53. Slafkovsky scored 30 goals.
Lane Hutson’s 78 points ranked third among defensemen.
Caufield scored just once in the first round. Still, he’s a lethal threat.
“He’s got a great shot, a great release,” Ruff said of the 5-foot-8, 175-pound Caufield. “He’s good at hiding, finding quiet areas. … A smaller man with small stick, quick release. You think you can get to him, but you can’t, because he’s getting the shot away. Great skater at the same time.
“He’s got a complete package, and incredibly strong on the puck.”
After staying off the ice on Monday, the Sabres will practice Tuesday.