Sabres coach Lindy Ruff criticized Montreal’s tactics and several officiating calls after Buffalo’s 3-2 Game 4 victory.
A veteran bench boss taking aim at playoff officiating has added extra heat to the Canadiens–Sabres series: Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff said Montreal’s players were “going down easy” to draw penalties during Buffalo’s 3-2 Game 4 win in Montreal, a result that tied the matchup.
Ruff made the comments to reporters Wednesday, pointing to what he believes was an uneven approach to contact in the postseason. While he acknowledged Montreal’s power play, he argued that players are trying to create infractions more effectively than in the regular season.
“The Sabres” wasn’t just a theme in Ruff’s message, though—discipline was the clear target. He suggested that, in playoff hockey, a team can’t afford to be too careless with stick contact, because any opportunity to take away momentum can quickly turn into special teams scoring.
Ruff highlighted the special-teams gap from Game 4, noting Montreal generated seven power plays compared with Buffalo’s four. For Ruff, the disparity was more than a stat line; it was part of what he viewed as a pattern of calls that tilted the game toward the Canadiens.
One moment he singled out involved Tage Thompson and Kaiden Guhle. Ruff pointed to a cross-checking call on Thompson that, in his view, set up Montreal’s go-ahead goal early in the first period.
Ruff’s critique was specific about the nature of the contact and how it’s interpreted by officials. He said the “little push” that Thompson delivered was not something he believes would be called during the regular season, but that playoff standards can be different.
He also addressed another officiating decision that affected Buffalo’s Game 4 flow. Ruff previously said the league made a poor call on a goaltender-interference challenge that erased a goal that would have given the Sabres a 2-0 advantage.
In Wednesday’s remarks, Ruff returned to the impact of those swings in momentum. He said Buffalo lost momentum on what he described as questionable calls and felt the Sabres could have received some calls themselves, before emphasizing that the team still battled through the disruptions.
That resilience mattered because the Sabres ultimately found a way to win anyway. finishing Game 4 with a 3-2 result after the series entered a pivotal. tightly contested stretch.. Ruff framed the win as proof the team could absorb the emotional and tactical toll of postseason officiating and still control its own outcome.
Looking ahead, the series now moves to the next chapter with Game 5 scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on Sportsnet or Sportsnet+.
For Buffalo. Ruff’s message is likely to resonate immediately: if the postseason is treating certain contacts differently. the margin for timing errors and borderline infractions shrinks.. Canadiens’ seven power plays in Game 4 also underline how quickly special teams can become the focal point when a series is this close.
Lindy Ruff Sabres Canadiens Game 4 NHL playoffs power plays Tage Thompson