Canadiens-Sabres Game 5 and Golden Knights-Ducks Game 6 test experience vs. youth

Montreal Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis talks to his team during second period, second round, game 4, NHL playoff action in Montreal on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

While John Tortorella has only been coaching the Vegas Golden Knights for a little over six weeks, they are his sixth NHL team, and he is coming up on his 22nd anniversary of hoisting the Stanley Cup.

Through all that, he still wonders something about playoff hockey.

“I’m not sure what’s better: experience or youth, when you have no clue what’s going on?” Tortorella said. “They don’t understand the pressures of it because they don’t know. Or the experience.”

Tortorella’s team showed the value of experience, taking a 3-2 series lead over the mostly new-to-this Anaheim Ducks by winning in overtime on Tuesday night. On the flip side, the less-seasoned Buffalo Sabres beat the Canadiens in Montreal to even up their best-of-seven series at 2-2.

Next up are two more chances to test Tortorella’s question.

Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres

When/Where to Watch: Game 5, Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT

Series: Tied 2-2

Just when it looked like the Sabres were in trouble, they scored the opening goal less than seven minutes into Game 4 and endured a back-and-forth night full of replay reviews and penalties. Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff wasn’t thrilled with some opposing players “going down easy” and wished for more embellishment calls, but he’s proud of how his young group handled it.

“We battled through all that,” Ruff said Wednesday. “We got to make sure we’re in there but at the same time not taking anything stupid and putting our team at a disadvantage. It’s a fine line right now, but I think there’s a way to juggle around it.”

The Canadiens got a taste of playoff hockey a year ago, losing in five games to Washington in the first round. A few players are left (and Phillip Danault returned) from 2021, when they went on an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final before falling short against Tampa Bay.

Captain Nick Suzuki, one of those players, chalked up the latest defeat to a bad bounce and already seems ready for Game 5.

“We knew we had to go to Buffalo anyway,” Suzuki said. “We’re a good road team. We’ve shown that all year, so we’ve go do it again and bring it back home.”

A few Sabres players have been in the NHL postseason, but the organization is here for the first time since 2011 after ending the longest drought in league history. The newcomers have been some of Buffalo’s best players, and it seems like they are enjoying the ride.

“As a kid, this is what you dream of, playing playoff hockey,” said Josh Doan, who leads the team in scoring this series with six points. “There’s nothing you trade it in the world for, getting the opportunity to do this.”

Vegas Golden Knights at Anaheim Ducks

When/Where to Watch: Game 6, Thursday, 9:30 p.m. EDT

Series: Vegas leads 3-2

Tortorella would love for experience to win out because the Golden Knights are “full of it.” And they know it.

“We’re a pretty comfortable group in there, and there’s a lot of players in there who’ve been through it and had a lot of success and won,” Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “We’re an older team, and it’s that feeling that no moment is too big.”

Vegas won’t have top-pairing defenseman Brayden McNabb, who was suspended for his late hit that injured Ducks center Ryan Poehling.

Even without Poehling, Anaheim has plenty of veteran guys to rely on, including Cup winners Alex Killorn and John Carlson and players like Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba who have gone on deep runs. But the Ducks’ core is about youth, speed and not getting intimidated by the situation.

“I’m pretty excited to see what we all got,” 23-year-old center Mason McTavish said. ”It’s our first time with our backs against the wall. I’m excited for us to kind of show everybody what we got."

Coach Joel Quenneville, who has three Cup rings from his time as head coach in Chicago, has been around long enough that Tuesday night reminded him of a similar Game 5 — 11 years ago ... at Anaheim. That was when he was with the Blackhawks, who erased exactly this deficit on the way to their third championship in six years.

“(We have) a lot of younger guys that they’ve been fine the whole playoffs and nothing seems to change their demeanor or their approach,” Quenneville said. “We’ll come back home and focus on the next game and know we’re right in the thick of things.”

As for the notion that a young team needs to learn how to lose before it can win, Quenneville quipped, “I’m not ready for that.”

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AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo, New York, AP Sports Writer Mark Anderson in Las Vegas and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.

This report by The Associated Press was first published on May 13, 2026.

Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press