The explanation Lindy Ruff got for the quick whistle has him absolutely fuming
Lindy Ruff didn't sugarcoat it after the game. The Buffalo Sabres head coach said exactly what every Sabres fan was screaming about.
"Ruff says he thought it was a quick whistle on the Malenstyn no-goal, said he didn't get much of an explanation on it." That's Brian Koziol of WGR, reporting from the postgame podium.
That's a head coach calling out the officials in plain English. Ruff doesn't do that lightly. He's been around the league long enough to know what he saw, and he's been around long enough to know when to keep his mouth shut. He chose to talk.
The play in question: Beck Malenstyn picked up a loose puck in the crease and scored. The referee blew the whistle before the puck crossed the line. The goal was waved off.
Paul Hamilton tweeted from his seat at KeyBank Center that the puck was never actually covered by Jakub Dobes. The fan view matched the head coach's read.
That's the part the league hasn't answered. Ruff says he didn't get much of an explanation. The officials made the call and moved on. The series result stands.
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Ruff's postgame quote will follow this officiating crew into the offseason
The Sabres have been the underdog story of this round. Lindy Ruff has patched a lineup together with Sam Carrick scratched and Jason Zucker returning from a block injury.
Despite all of it, Buffalo forced Game 7 on their own ice. The home record across the regular season was 26-10-5, and KeyBank Center delivered for them most of the year.
Then the quick whistle happened. The Malenstyn play wasn't a goal because the referee said so. That's how playoff hockey ends sometimes.
This Sabres-Canadiens series has produced more officiating controversies than any second round in recent memory.
The Phillip Danault no-goal in Game 3. The Joe Veleno headshot uncalled in Game 6. The Jason Zucker goaltender interference non-call earlier in Game 7. Now the Malenstyn quick whistle.
Both fan bases have something to complain about. Both head coaches have legitimate grievances. The league office will be busy this week.
Ruff's specific quote about not getting an explanation is the part the NHL won't like. Officials are supposed to talk to head coaches about big calls. That's the entire purpose of the bench-side communication.
If the explanation never came, that's a process failure on top of a judgment failure.
Martin St-Louis took the call and moved on. The Habs head coach didn't apologize for the break. He didn't have to. The whistle is the whistle, and the goal didn't count.
Ultimately, the Buffalo Sabres lost the series by a single goal in Game 7 overtime, making the heartbreak even more difficult to accept for their fans.
After the controversial call by the referee earlier in the game, emotions were already boiling inside the KeyBank Center, and the ending only added to the devastation.
One bounce, one whistle, and one overtime goal ended Buffalo's season in the cruelest way possible, leaving fans wondering for a long time what could have been.
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LIVE
MAY 18, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Bolduc | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Phillip Danault | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jordan Greenway | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kaiden Guhle | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Beck Malenstyn | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ryan McLeod | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Owen Power | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Suzuki | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Alexandre Texier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Anderson | - | - | - | |
| Zach Benson | - | - | - | |
| Bowen Byram | - | - | - | |
| Cole Caufield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||