The Buffalo Sabres beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in Game 4 in Montreal on Tuesday night, pulling the first-round series back to two games apiece and reclaiming home-ice advantage. Zach Benson scored less than five minutes into the third period, and Buffalo held off a late Montreal push to force Game 5 at KeyBank Center on Thursday night.

Mattias Samuelsson opened the scoring at 6:32 of the first period, finishing a play set up by Josh Doan and Josh Norris. Buffalo came out fast and had an 8-1 edge in shots by the first TV timeout, a sharp answer after being outplayed in a 6-2 Game 3 loss. The Sabres were the aggressors early, and for a stretch it looked like the game might tilt their way before the Canadiens found their footing.

The turning point in the first period came on a Sabres goal that was later overturned after Montreal coach Martin St. Louis challenged for goalie interference. Officials initially ruled that the puck crossed the goal line while it was in Jakub Dobeš’s glove, but the situation room decided Konsta Helenius made contact with Dobeš’s stick and prevented him from making a play on the puck. A little over two minutes later, Alex Newhook tied it 1-1 for Montreal, and Cole Caufield put the Canadiens ahead 2-1 late in the period on the power play.

Buffalo answered in the second when Tage Thompson tied the score after the puck bounced off Dobeš and into the net. From there, the game became a test of nerve. Montreal mounted a strong push throughout the third period, but Benson’s goal stood up, and the Sabres survived the final surge to win 3-2 and send the series back to Buffalo even.

Before Game 4, Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said the group had been challenged all year long and needed to play its best. Afterward, he said the team had tightened things up and finally looked like itself again. He also said he totally disagreed with the no-goal ruling, arguing that Dobeš swung his stick and initiated the contact with Helenius, and that Helenius tried to avoid the goaltender while Montreal’s player made the contact. In Ruff’s view, it was a tough review against Buffalo.

The result gives the Sabres a reset after a rough Game 3 and puts them back in control of the next step, with Game 5 set for Thursday night in Buffalo. For Montreal, it means the pressure shifts to an away game after letting a 2-1 series lead slip away in a series that has already swung sharply on special teams, reviews and one goal that never counted.

The Canadiens now head into Game 5 needing to recover from a missed chance to close the gap, while Buffalo gets to play in front of its own crowd with the series back where it started: all square.