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NHL Notebook: Playoff hockey is back in Buffalo, Dowd and Durzi at the centre of tensions between Golden Knights, Mammoth
Buffalo Sabres
Photo credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Alicia LaBine
Apr 20, 2026, 20:00 EDTUpdated: Apr 20, 2026, 20:10 EDT
As the Edmonton Oilers prepare for Game 1 of their seventh consecutive playoff run, the Buffalo Sabres got their first taste of post-season action in 15 years on Sunday night.
After being down 2-0 to the Boston Bruins late in the third period, the Sabres appeared to be set to start their highly anticipated playoff return with a disappointing loss.
The Sabres heavily outplayed the Bruins the entire game, but Jeremy Swayman stood tall, allowing zero goals despite getting outshot 27-13.
As less than eight minutes remained in the third period, Sabres superstar Tage Thompson managed to find the net twice to tie the game up. Less than a minute after Thomspon’s second goal, Mattias Samuelsson gave them their go-ahead marker, and Alex Tuch extended their lead with an empty net dagger at 18:48 in the third.
On Monday’s Daily Faceoff LIVE episode, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton spoke on the buzz around the city of Buffalo.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Hutts, you’re a guy who played in Buffalo. What did you make of just, before we even get into the game, the atmosphere, the crowd, the swords they’re skating out from, the scenes from the streets? As someone who spent a lot of time in Buffalo, what did you make of the way that fanbase showed up for Game 1?
Carter Hutton: It was amazing. They dragged out the punching dummy, and they’re beating the heck out of it. They have rollerblades on. They’ve created such an atmosphere and the fanbase is just rocking. They go in and I think the atmosphere, they fed off. And then it was like a nervous energy, right, like you’re losing in that game, you’re not scoring, and then all of a sudden a big play by Tage Thompson. That play in the offensive zone behind the net on that wrap around is a world class play, the sell job and the quick hands to get that back out. A tough defensive play by (Charlie) McAvoy. There was a few points in that game where it felt the Bruins were just going to run this thing down. Even on the go-ahead goal, that puck has to get out of the zone. This is simple playoff hockey, and they end up finding the back of the net and the building looks like it’s about to explode.
This is the first time Sabres fans have had something to cheer about in late April since 2011, when they lost in Game 7 to the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round.
For the city of Buffalo, there is hope that this playoff elation lasts them at least a few more weeks.

Dowd’s dramatic debacle with Cooley

A new heated rivalry is on the rise as tensions between the Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Mammoth were on full display in Game 1, and Nic Dowd and young superstar Logan Cooley were right in the middle of it.
Logan Cooley opened the scoring on Sunday night with his first career playoff goal and the first playoff goal for the entire Mammoth organization with 11 seconds left in the first period. However, the Golden Knights were the ones to come on top in this feisty matchup.
Utah would hold a 2-1 lead after two, with Colton Sissons scoring for Vegas and Kevin Stenlund for the Mammoth, but in the third period, things hit another level.
After Ivan Barbashev’s empty net goal sealed the win in game one for the Golden Knights, a frustrated Logan Cooley decided to start a scrum at centre ice with a cross-check on Nic Dowd.
Dowd, who scored the game-winning goal for his squad, did not take lightly to this and chased Cooley down, giving him a couple of swats before he was pulled away by a referee, wearing a nasty cut above his right eye.
At the end of the game, Dowd made sure to let Cooley know that this would not be the last time they got into it with each other, as he chirped Cooley while on his way to congratulate Carter Hart on his first playoff win in six years.
“I’m coming for you. I’m gonna f–king kill you,” Dowd screamed at Cooley with his jersey drenched in blood from their previous altercation.
The physicality between the Mammoth and Golden Knights in the Game 1 matchup is a good sign for the entertainment value of the rest of this series. Playoff hockey is most definitely back.

Durzi fined for head-butting

Dowd and Cooley’s scrap is not the only evidence of the emerging rivalry between two of the newest franchises in the NHL.
Sean Durzi faced a $5,000 fine from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety this morning after a controversial moment where he head butted Rasmus Andersson.
Chaos ensued after Utah’s Ian Cole was clipped with a high stick in the first period of this highly agitated meeting between the two teams. Durzi’s hands were tied up by the officials, so he decided to enforce his aggravation by using his head against Andersson.
Andersson immediately began pleading his case to the officials after Durzi had driven his head right into his visor, with both receiving minor penalties for roughing. The Mammoth still ended up with the power play after the altercation, as Brett Howden was given a minor penalty as well.
Some fans online are saying that the fine was unwarranted, as the headbutt didn’t seem overly malicious, while others are on the side of the Golden Knights, claiming it was unsportsmanlike and dirty.
Durzi is known for being a gritty player, as Oilers fans know from the time he drew Zach Hyman into a fight when he was playing for the Los Angeles Kings in 2023 – the only fight Hyman has been in as an Oiler.
We can expect another physical game from Durzi, Dowd, and crew on Tuesday, with Game 2 set for 7:30 p.m. MT. The aggravated state of the two teams is the perfect setup for a must-watch bout of playoff hockey.

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