Alexandre Texier's behind-the-play moment is the clip everyone is talking about
Bowen Byram took his stick to Alexandre Texier's face Tuesday night. Then he argued the call.
That's the part that has Sabres-Canadiens fans buzzing this morning.
The Buffalo defenseman delivered a clear high stick on the Habs winger and then turned to the officials like the whole thing was a misunderstanding.
The clip is unambiguous. Texier didn't sell anything. He didn't even react theatrically. The stick caught him in the face and the box was the right address.
Analyst Matt Drake summed up the room. He compared it to Alexandre Carrier's earlier 4-minute penalty in this series and said Byram's infraction was more obvious.
That's the kind of comparison that doesn't help your case at the league office.
The Canadiens already lost a key special teams moment when Carrier drew blood earlier in the round.
There have been plenty of embellishment situations throughout the playoffs so far, from the series against Tampa Bay to several other matchups around the league, but this situation involving Texier simply is not one of them.
Officiating in the NHL is an incredibly difficult job, especially with how fast the game moves and how quickly decisions have to be made in real time.
Players will always argue calls and try to sway the officials, once the decision is made, it is not going to change.
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Ruff watches his top blueliner argue a clean call in Montreal
Lindy Ruff didn't pull Byram off the bench. The veteran defender stayed in the rotation, but the moment lives on replay and the league has it.
Texier has been quietly excellent in this series. The 26-year-old French winger sits at 4 points through 9 playoff games at plus-6 with a game-winning goal.
The 1 million cap hit makes him one of Martin St-Louis' best depth bets in the bottom six.
He's not the guy you target with a stick to the face if you're thinking clearly.
Byram's reaction is the storyline. Most defenders accept the penalty and skate to the box. Byram lobbied for a different result.
The officials held the call. The replay made the case for them. The clip is already circulating Wednesday morning.
Buffalo's penalty kill is going to be a story all series. The Sabres took the original 4-minute Carrier penalty when their own infraction sat on the same level.
Habs and Sabres aren't done with each other. Not even close.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 12, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Tage Thompson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Josh Doan | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Jack Eichel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Cutter Gauthier | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mason McTavish | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Zach Benson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alex Newhook | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mattias Samuelsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Beckett Sennecke | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Olen Zellweger | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Rasmus Dahlin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Josh Norris | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Brandon Saad | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||