Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki recognizes his club let a huge opportunity slip away in Saturday's 8-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6 of their second-round series.
The Habs raced out to a 3-1 lead on home ice with goals on their first three shots, but the Sabres responded with seven unanswered goals to force a winner-take-all Game 7.
"It's probably the worst game we've played," Suzuki said, per Sportsnet. "We're only going up. I think it's going to be important for guys to look themselves in the mirror and say we've got an opportunity to win one game and move on to the third round. We'd take that any time throughout the season."
The Canadiens had never lost a potential series-clinching game at home when leading by multiple goals before Saturday, according to Sportsnet Stats.
The most goals Montreal had allowed in a contest in these playoffs prior to Saturday was four. Although the Canadiens were in the lead most of the first period, the Sabres ended the night with a 36-22 shot advantage and controlled 68.19% of expected goals at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Montreal was in the same position in Round 1, winning Game 7 on the road in Tampa Bay after squandering a chance to end the series at home in Game 6. The Canadiens are 8-2 in their last 10 Game 7s dating back to 1992 and are 5-0 this postseason after a loss.
Game 7 is scheduled for Monday night in Buffalo.
