BUFFALO — Martin St. Louis has no interest in an off-ice battle with Lindy Ruff.
A day after Ruff, the veteran coach of the Buffalo Sabres, said that the Montreal Canadiens are “going down too easy” in the Eastern Conference second-round series between the clubs, St. Louis made it clear that gamesmanship is not his thing.
Ruff wasn’t necessarily trying to get anything going in the media, but it was evident he didn’t like some calls going against his team.
“I feel like if I’m relying on the refs for me to win a series,” St. Louis, the Canadiens coach, said at the club’s hotel on Thursday morning, “I’m spending my energy in the wrong place.”
The best-of-seven, tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 on Thursday night at the KeyBank Center, hasn’t featured calls going heavily in the favour of either team. The Sabres are 4-for-20 on the power play in the series; the Canadiens are 5-for-16.
In Game 4, a 3-2 Buffalo win on Tuesday in Montreal, the Sabres had four power plays. The Canadiens had seven.
Following that loss, the Canadiens’ self-esteem hasn’t taken a hit — it’s a resilient Montreal group in the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs. Including their first-round win in seven games against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal has not lost consecutive games in this post-season. And the Canadiens are 4-1-1 in six road games.
What do the Habs say about Game 5?
“We know how to respond,” forward Josh Anderson said on Thursday. “We have full belief in this group. I like where our game is at. We have full confidence that we’re going to come in tonight and play the right way.”
Said St. Louis: “I like the way our team has played on the road all year. I don’t think we’re preoccupied home or away. We have a brand we’re trying to play and we go.”
Sabres defenceman Conor Timmins missed the morning skate on Thursday for maintenance reasons, Ruff said, but is available for Game 5. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was in the starter’s net at the skate.
St. Louis did make a battle reference when he was asked what he likes about coaching in the NHL playoffs. During his prolific playing career, St. Louis, 50, skated in 107 playoff games, recording 90 points. In 2004, he won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“The environment,” St. Louis said. “You feel you’re on the battlefield when you’re trying to win, this battle against this team. It takes four wins. You get knocked down, and the process of getting back up, it’s like a boxing match.
“The round is over, you talk about it, you might have won the round, lost the round. You make subtle adjustments, and you get back and you show some courage. I know I’m not on the ice, but you’re in there with them. It’s pretty fun.”
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