Article content
BUFFALO — Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis had a straightforward directive for his players in Game 7.
Advertisement 2
Article content
Simply, find a way to win against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night at the KeyBank Center.
Article content
Article content
Mission accomplished.
And in overtime no less, in a tight, entertaining game on a warm spring night in western New York.
Alex Newhook scored the series-deciding goal at 11:22 of the extra period for a 3-2 Montreal victory, sending the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Canadiens improved to 6-0-0 in games in the playoffs after a loss, and are 6-1-1 on the road.
Newhook’s low shot eluded Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, bringing the Canadiens off the bench in celebration while breaking the hearts of the Sabres and their devoted faithful.
The triumph didn’t come without some nail biting, though, as the Sabres fought back from a 2-0 deficit.
Jakub Dobes had to make 37 saves in the Canadiens net.
Bring on the Hurricanes
The Canadiens are one round away from competing for the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2021, when they beat Vegas in the semifinals before losing against the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games in the Cup final.
Your Midday Sun
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
Game 1 of the conference final between the Canadiens and the ’Canes is on Thursday in Raleigh.
The Sabres tied the game 2-2 when defencemen Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin teamed up at 6:27 of the third.
Power fed Dahlin, who came off the side to Dobes’ right and had much of the net to hit as the Canadiens goalie couldn’t get into position to make a save.
The Canadiens had just four shots on goal in the third period, but Luukkonen had to be sharp to stop Josh Anderson with three minutes to go. The Sabres then took the puck back down the ice and Dobes made a pad save on Tage Thompson.
Buffalo finally gave its fans a legitimate reason to wave their towels when they scored at 13:19 of the second period.
A shot by defenceman Mattias Samuelsson found its way through a screen, glancing off Sabres teammate Jordan Greenway and past Dobes.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Habs gave up two-goal lead
Naturally, the crowd was whipped into a passionate frenzy and the Sabres had the momentum going into the third period. It didn’t carry over initially, though, as the Sabres had just one shot on goal during an early high-sticking penalty to Phillip Danault.
Advertisement 4
Article content
The Canadiens held a 2-0 lead at the first intermission. At 4:30, Montreal opened the scoring when a Kaiden Guhle pass to the front of the net bounced off the right skate of Danault and over the goal line. It was Danault’s first goal in his past 19 playoff games.
The Canadiens lead was increased at 14:29 while the Sabres’ Zach Benson served a penalty for delay of game. Zachary Bolduc didn’t hesitate on a pass from captain Nick Suzuki as he fired a one-timer over the shoulder of Luukkonen.
Sabres forward Alex Tuch should consider himself lucky that the free agent market this summer won’t be deep.
Tuch still will be the prized piece among unrestricted forwards despite having a terrible series against the Canadiens. After scoring four goals and recording three assists in six games as the Sabres eliminated the Boston Bruins in the first round, Tuch had zero offensive impact against the Canadiens, failing to register a point in the series.
X: @koshtorontosun
Article content