The Buffalo Sabres find themselves one loss away from playoff elimination after falling to the Montreal Canadiens 6-3 on Thursday, putting Montreal up 3-2 in their second-round series. Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans capped a second-period surge that turned the game, and the Canadiens will have a chance to close things out in Game 6. Buffalo had been the better regular-season team by record — 50-23-9 to Montreal’s 48-24-10 — which makes the deficit sting a little more.
In Triple-A ball, the Rochester Red Wings dropped a 6-3 decision to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, falling to the visiting IronPigs in what was a mirror score to the hockey result up north. No individual stats were available, but Rochester will look to bounce back as the series continues.
Several regional teams were off Thursday — the Rangers, Yankees, Knicks, Bills, Giants, Cornell, Hobart, and the Rochester Knighthawks all sat out. With the Sabres now facing a must-win situation and the Red Wings dropping another game, it was a quiet but consequential Thursday for Finger Lakes sports fans.
