Alex Newhook's overtime winner sent the Bell Centre into bedlam on Monday night as the Montreal Canadiens completed an emotional Game 7 escape, edging the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 to claim a place in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The result ends one of the most dramatic second-round series in recent memory. Montreal had led 3-1 in the best-of-seven only to watch Buffalo rip off seven unanswered goals across three games to force a winner-takes-all decider. The Canadiens responded the way they have all post-season - by leaning on rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes and an offence built around the kids.
Montreal opened the scoring early in the first period when a Maxim Texier feed glanced in off a Canadiens forward in the slot, and Zack Bolduc made it 2-0 on the power play after a sharp puck battle in the corner. Buffalo's Mattias Samuelsson pulled one back later in the period, deflecting off Josh Anderson in front, and Owen Power's walk-down-the-slot finish tied the game before the second intermission.
From there it was a goaltending duel. Dobes turned aside breakaway looks from Tage Thompson and Jordan Greenway, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - pressed into the start after Alex Lyon was pulled in Game 6 - stopped 18 shots through regulation. The Sabres twice thought they had a third goal, but one was waved off after referees blew an early whistle.
Overtime did not last long. Rasmus Dahlin had given Buffalo a wild tying goal late in the third with a frenzy in front of Dobes, but Newhook ended the night within minutes of the additional period by jamming home a rebound. The Canadiens have now played two seven-game series back to back, beating Tampa Bay in the opening round before grinding through this one against the Sabres.
Montreal finished the regular season sixth in the NHL with 106 points, third in a brutal Atlantic Division. If the Canadiens beat the second-seeded Carolina Hurricanes and then a Western Conference finalist, they will arguably have completed the most difficult playoff run any Stanley Cup winner has assembled, sweeping past fifth, fourth, second and potentially first seeds in succession.
The Eastern Conference Finals begin Thursday, May 21 in Raleigh. Carolina has not played since May 9 after sweeping Ottawa and Philadelphia, meaning the Hurricanes will enter Game 1 with nearly two weeks of rest while the Canadiens arrive on fumes.
For Montreal, fatigue is suddenly the most pressing question. Cole Caulfield, Lane Hutson and captain Nick Suzuki have carried the offensive load through 14 playoff games, and Dobes has started every one of them. Whether the rookie can keep delivering against a Hurricanes side widely considered the most complete remaining team will define the series.
For Buffalo, the comeback that wasn't ends an extraordinary run. After being written off down 3-1, the Sabres rallied around Dahlin, Thompson and Power to deliver three of the most resilient games their fan base has seen in a generation - only to fall in the highest-stakes moment of the season.
