The Canadiens-Sabres series was billed as a matchup between two inexperienced teams, but after the Habs’ Game 5 win, it’s clear that Montreal is a step or two ahead of its Atlantic Division counterpart. The Canadiens had an answer for everything Buffalo threw their way Thursday, with Montreal’s resilience and maturity the key difference as it sits one win from the Eastern Conference Final.

The Sabres opened the scoring with an early goal for the third straight game, but the Habs answered within four minutes. Montreal then needed just nine seconds to respond to Buffalo’s second goal later in the frame and stuck with goaltender Jakub Dobes despite his rocky start. The Sabres had a chance to take a lead on the man advantage shortly after the Canadiens tied the contest in the second period, but they generated nothing. Montreal jumped out on top four minutes later and scored on both its power-play opportunities afterward to put the game out of reach.

The contest was up for grabs for both clubs until late in the second period, but it was the Canadiens who looked comfortable in the moment, while the Sabres squandered ample opportunities to take control.

Although momentum, coaching decisions, discipline, and clutch plays are all working in Montreal’s favor at the moment, we’d be remiss not to mention how effectively the Canadiens are shutting down Buffalo’s top players. Veteran center Phillip Danault has put the clamps on Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch, who were each minus-2 in Game 5 and are now minus-9 and minus-8, respectively, for the series.

The Canadiens can wrap it up Saturday evening with the Series Clincher at the Bell Centre.