April 10th, 1983
Montreal Canadiens (49-29-4) at Buffalo Sabres (48-26-8)
Buffalo leads series 3-1.
Well its do or die for the Canadiens as they must win 3 straight games to continue in the 1982-83 Stanley Cup playoffs. Some concern for Montreal is that the 1st line LW
Bocci (-3) C
Hughes (-4) and RW
Harrod (-4) are a combined -11 with just 2 goals in 4 games.
RD
Andrew Rickford became a regular on the defense this season. The 20 year old is currently on the 2nd pairing with
Marc-Andre Berube. Primarily a two-way, stay at home defensman Rickford had 5 goals and 22 points in 57 games this season. This is Rickford's rookie season, The 107th overall pick by Montreal also played in 18 games in the AHL this season. So far in 4 games, he has 1 goal and is a +2 in the playoffs.
The goaltending will remain the same for both teams, G
Aleksey Zhavronkov is 3-1 with a 3.00 GAA and .927 save % in the playoffs. G
Mike Blackshear is 1-3 with a 3.77 GAA and .830 save % in the playoffs this year.
Montreal's RD
Andrew Rickford gets his 2nd playoff goal this year at 6:50 to make it 1-0 for Montreal. Montreal goes up 2-0 at 12:15 of the 2nd when LW
Al Ladd gets his 1st of the playoffs while on a 4 on 4. Montreal out shot Buffalo 14 to 6 in the first and held most of the momentum.
Buffalo makes it 2-1 at 2:53 of the 2nd when RW
Wilfred Caldwell gets his 4th of the playoffs. Buffalo out shot Montreal 14 to 5 in the 2nd period but Montreal holds the lead 2-1.
Buffalo ties up the game 2-2 at 2:22 of the 3rd when RD
Gabriel Jalbert gets his 3rd of the playoffs on the PP. Montreal scores a late goal at 18:57 to take a 3-2 lead, LD
Marc-Andre Berube gets his 2nd of the playoffs. Montreal holds on for the win and now trail 3 games to 2. Montreal out shot Buffalo 12 to 3 in the 3rd. Montreal was 0 for 3 on the PP and Buffalo was 1 for 4.
Montreal's
Marc-Andre Berube was the 1st star, he had a goal and an assist. The 33 year old now has 2 goals and 6 points in 5 playoff games. For his career, Berube has played in 26 NHL playoff games, he has 3 goals and 16 points with a +19 rating.
Montreal 3 Buffalo 2
Buffalo leads series 3-2.
| PER | TEAM | GOAL | # | ASSIST | ASSIST |
| 1st | MTL | Andrew Rickford | 2 | John Herrod | Chris Hughes |
| 1st | MTL | Al Ladd | 1 | Marc-Andre Berube | Lorenzo Bocci |
| 2nd | BUF | Wilfred Caldwell | 4 | Jan Pchalek | Colin Gagne |
| 3rd | BUF | Gabriel Jalbert (PP) | 3 | Anthoni Moreau | Jim Bunting |
| 3rd | MTL | Marc-Andre Berube | 2 | Al Ladd | Jiri Bohm |
| TEAM | GOALIE | SA | GA |
| MTL | Mike Blackshear | 23 | 2 |
| BUF | Aleksey Zhavronkov | 31 | 3 |
Around the league...............
Boston 3 Carolina 1
Boston leads series 3-2.
Islanders 4 Florida 1
Florida leads series 3-2.
Edmonton 2 Winnipeg 0
Winnipeg leads series 3-2.
Calgary 4 Anaheim 3
Calgary wins series 4-1.
Nashville 4 Minnesota 2
Nashville leads series 3-2.
St Louis 4 Dallas 1 -St Louis Blues G
Antonio Rios made 41 saves in the win. The 29 year old is now 3-0-0 in the playoffs with a 1.20 GAA and a .963 save %. For his NHL playoff career, Rios has a 6-1-0 record with 2.05 GAA and a .940 save %.
St Louis win series 4-1.