Sabres Force Game Seven with Canadiens

Tage Thompson (UConn) assisted on three goals, and also scored one into an empty net as the visiting Buffalo Sabres staved off elimination last night with an 8-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game Six of their 2026 Stanley Cup Playoff second-round series, which is now tied at three games apiece.

Jason Zucker (Denver) had a goal and assist for the Sabres, who scored seven consecutive unanswered goals over the final 46 minutes of play after falling behind, 3-1, in the first period. Buffalo's Zach Metsa (Quinnipiac) also tallied his first career playoff goal in his first NHL postseason appearance. Alex Lyon (Yale) made one save on four shots for the Sabres in goal, before being replaced by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) stopped 27 of 33 shots for the Canadiens before giving way late in regulation to Jacob Fowler (Boston College), who made his own Stanley Cup Playoff debut in relief. The deciding Game Seven of this Eastern Conference semifinal is Monday night in Buffalo, with the winner to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference final.

Canadiens Take Lead over Sabres, Ducks Tie Vegas

Cutter Gauthier (Boston College) tallied three assists as the Anaheim Ducks tied their Stanley Cup Playoff series with a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night. The best-of-seven Western Conference matchup is now tied at two games apiece, with Game Five set for Tuesday night in Las Vegas. Alex Killorn (Harvard) notched a goal and an assist for the Ducks, while Jack Eichel (Boston University) set up two goals for the Golden Knights.

In the Eastern Conference, the host Montreal Canadiens took a two game to one lead with a 6-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in Game Three of their series on Sunday. Alex Newhook (Boston College) notched his second two-goal game of the series for the Canadiens, who also got two points apiece from Cole Caufield (Wisconsin) and Lane Hutson (Boston University), plus 26 saves in net from Jakub Dobes (Ohio State). Tage Thompson (UConn) scored a goal and added an assist for the Sabres, who got 32 stops from Alex Lyon (Yale). Game Four is Tuesday in Montreal.

 

Sabres Take Lead Over Canadiens

Josh Doan (Arizona State) scored one goal and set up another, and Jordan Greenway (Ohio State) added another goal as the Buffalo Sabres topped the visiting Montreal Canadiens, 4-2, in Game One of their 2026 NHL Eastern Conference semifinal series tonight. 

Alex Lyon (Yale) made 26 saves for the Sabres, who are skating in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2007, the last time they qualified for postseason play. Jakub Dobes (Ohio State) had 12 stops for the Canadiens, who continued their pattern of win-lose so far in these playoffs.

Game Two is Friday night in Buffalo.

Sabres Win First Playoff Series Since 2007

Alex Tuch (Boston College) and Josh Norris (Michigan) scored the first and last goals of the game, respectively, and the Buffalo Sabres moved on to the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins last night. Buffalo wins the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series, four games to two.

Tage Thompson (UConn) had two assists and Alex Lyon (Yale) stopped 25 shots as the Sabres won their first postseason series since 2007. Prior to this year, the Sabres had not made the playoffs in 14 seasons, which set an NHL record. Buffalo will now face the winner of the Montreal-Tampa Bay series, which will wrap up with a deciding seventh game tomorrow night in Florida.

Sabres Take Back Series Lead Over Bruins

Alex Tuch (Boston College) notched the game-winning goal early in the third period, and Alex Lyon (Yale) made 24 saves in net to boost the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins last night at TD Garden in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Buffalo now leads the best-of seven Eastern Conference series, two games to one.

Charlie McAvoy (Boston University) assisted on the lone goal for the Bruins, who have never led in this series. The Sabres rebounded to win Game One in Buffalo, while Boston held on to win Game Two. Game Four is Sunday in Boston (2 p.m. ET).

Detroit Downs Devils, 5-2

The Detroit Red Wings extended their winning streak to three games with a 5-2 victory at New Jersey last night. The Red Wings win the season series, two games to one.

Detroit's Dylan Larkin (Michigan) scored his 30th goal of the season, which turned out to be the game-winner, and added an assist. He has now scored at least 30 goals in four straight seasons. J.T. Compher (Michigan) also scored for the Red Wings, while Alex Lyon (Yale) made 28 saves. Erik Haula (Minnesota) notched a goal and an assist for the host Devils, with Seamus Casey (Michigan) assisting on Haula's goal. Devils defenseman Brian Dumoulin (Boston College) logged a game-high time on ice of 26:17 before a crowd of 16,514 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The Devils, who will face Carolina in the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, closed out their regular season with a 42-33-7 overall record, and finished third in the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division. The Red Wings (39-35-7), who have been eliminated from NHL postseason consideration for the ninth consecutive year, will close out their 2024-25 campaign tonight at Toronto.

U.S. Falls in 2024 IIHF Worlds Opener

The United States got behind the proverbial eight-ball on its first day of competition at the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Czechia on Friday. The U.S. fell to Sweden by a 5-2 count at Ostrava Arena in the opener of Group B play for both teams.

Zach Werenski (Michigan) and Brock Nelson (North Dakota) scored goals for the Americans, who got 33 saves in net from Alex Lyon (Yale). Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) and Matt Boldy (Boston College) picked up assists for the U.S., which will return to action today against Germany, while Sweden will face Poland on Sunday. 

Canada, which boasts almost a half-dozen former NCAA skaters on its roster, begins play today against Great Britain in Group A round-robin competition. The Canadians won last year's Worlds in Riga/Latvia, with Germany claiming the silver medal and co-host Latvia earning bronze. The U.S. finished fourth in 2023.

ADDENDUM: The U.S. rebounded for a 6-1 win over Germany, getting goals from six different scorers. Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College) and Michael Kesselring (Northeastern) tallied a goal and an assist apiece for the Americans, who also got two assists each from Cole Caufield (Wisconsin) and Shane Pinto (North Dakota). Trey Augustine (Michigan State) made 12 saves on 13 shots in relief of Lyon (14 saves).

Chicago Wolves Win AHL's 2022 Calder Cup

Alex Lyon (Yale) stopped all 28 shots he faced, and Andrew Poturalski (New Hampshire) again contributed a goal and an assist as the Chicago Wolves clinched the 2022 Calder Cup as American Hockey League champions. 

Jack Drury (Harvard) had two assists in Chicago's 4-0 win at Springfield on Saturday evening, while David Gust (Ohio State) scored a goal for the visiting Wolves. Charlie Lindgren (St. Cloud State) stopped 26 of 29 shots in defeat for the Eastern Conference champion Thunderbirds.

Chicago rebounded from an opening-game loss in the final with four straight victories, including three in Massachusetts, to win the best-of-seven series, four games to one. It was the first Calder Cup awarded since 2019, with the AHL's postseason competition canceled the past two seasons due to COVID-19. 

Drury finished third among all Calder Cup Playoff scorers this spring with 24 points, on nine goals and 15 assists, while Poturalski was right behind him with 8-15—23 points. Lyon finished 9-3-0 in net with a 2.03 goals-against average and two shutouts in 12 playoff appearances.

It is the third Calder Cup in Wolves' history, with the previous ones coming in 2002 and 2008. Chicago, which began play in 1994 as a member of the now-defunct International Hockey League, also won the Turner Cup as IHL champs in both 1998 and 2000.

Yale's Lyon Signs with Flyers

Yale goaltender Alex Lyon has signed a free agent contract with the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers, according to multiple outlets. He will forgo his final season in New Haven, and closed out his college career on March 26 with 28 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss to UMass Lowell in the first round of the NCAA East Regional in Albany.

A native of Baudette, Minn. who prepped with Omaha (USHL) before enrolling at Yale, Lyon finished with a 19-8-4 record in 31 overall appearances this season. He also posted a nation-best 1.64 goals-against average along with a second-best .936 save percentage, and five shutouts. He went 14-6-3 in 23 ECAC games this year while pacing the circuit in GAA (1.61) and save percent (.938) to go along with four shutouts.

A finalist for the second straight season for the Mike Richter Award as the NCAA's best goaltender, Lyon completed his career with a record of 50-29-4 (1.88, .931, 15 SO) in 93 outings at Yale. He also helped the Bulldogs to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances his final two campaigns.

Elsewhere, Boston University goaltender Sean Maguire signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to the NHL club's web site, and will join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) on an amateur tryout contract. He went 13-9-1 (2.41, .920, 2 SO) in 25 NCAA games this year with the Terriers, after sitting out from a medical redshirt season in 2014-15. A native of Powell River, B.C., Maguire finished with a 29-29-1 overall mark (2.58, .922, 6 SO) in three years at BU.