Major concern emerges for Canadiens before Game 2
Cole Caufield and Martin St-Louis are heading into Game 2 with Montreal's scoring slump getting harder to ignore.
Jason Gregor's point was direct, and it is tough to argue with it after 8 playoff games. Outside of Nick Suzuki, the Canadiens' top forwards have not given Montreal enough offense.
Caufield has 1 goal in 8 games. For a winger who scored 51 goals in the regular season, that is the number sitting over this series right now.
Ivan Demidov has 0 goals in 8 games. That stands out because Montreal needs more than flashes and possession touches from a player with that kind of skill.
Juraj Slafkovsky's line is just as rough. After his hat trick in the opening game of the playoffs, all 3 on the power play, he has 0 goals in his last 7 games.
That is why this is becoming a coach issue as much as a player issue. St-Louis cannot just wait for talent to sort itself out when the top of the lineup is this quiet.
Suzuki has carried too much of the load. He has been the one forward still driving results, while the other big names around him have left too many chances unfinished.
Caufield has 1 goal in 8 games.
Demidov has 0 goals in 8 games.
Slafvkovsky 0 goals in his last 7 games after a hat trick (all on PP) in first game of the playoffs.
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Montreal's top line is losing its grip on the series
The problem is not just total goals. It is how little pressure the Canadiens are getting from the players who are supposed to tilt the ice every night.
Caufield's slump feels the heaviest because finishers get judged by moments, and right now those moments are passing him by. When your best scorer is held scoreless at even strength, the whole offense tightens up.
Demidov's drought matters for a different reason. He does not need to carry the team alone, but Montreal needs something more dangerous from him than a quiet 0 in the goal column.
Slafkovsky may be the most frustrating file of the three. A hat trick in Game 1 made it look like he was about to become a real factor, and instead the production stopped cold right after.
This is where Buffalo starts to gain control of a series. If Montreal's top players do not answer, the Sabres do not need perfection. They just need their depth to stay even and their structure to hold.
St-Louis has to find a way to get that line attacking downhill again. More touches inside, more second chances around the crease, more pucks arriving with purpose instead of dying on the outside.
Because Gregor's point cuts right to the truth. Nick Suzuki cannot do this alone, and if Cole Caufield, Ivan Demidov, and Juraj Slafkovsky stay this quiet, the Canadiens are not going very far.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 7, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Jordan Staal | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Andrei Svechnikov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jordan Martinook | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jalen Chatfield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Trevor Zegras | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Emil Andrae | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Porter Martone | - | 1 | 1 | |
| K'Andre Miller | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Denver Barkey | - | - | - | |
| Jackson Blake | - | - | - | |
| Alex Bump | - | - | - | |
| William Carrier | - | - | - | |
| Sean Couturier | - | - | - | |
| Jamie Drysdale | - | - | - | |
| Christian Dvorak | - | - | - | |
| Tyson Foerster | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||