It might be time to give Alex Newhook a Game 7-style nickname. He has now scored the game-winning goal in back-to-back Game 7s. The Montreal Canadiens took an early two-goal lead, but just like in Game 6, the Buffalo Sabres clawed their way back into the contest. The Sabres outshot the Canadiens 30 to 14 from the second period onward, but Jakub Dobes’s huge “bounce-forward” game kept Montreal in it long enough until Newhook came to save the day in overtime. Newhook’s OT winner was his sixth goal of the series and will now be looking to continue that momentum when the Canadiens head over to Carolina to take on the Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.
Canadiens bent but did not break
The Sabres have scored the first goal in five out of the first six games in the series, but in Game 7, it was the Canadiens who struck first. After Josh Anderson chipped and chased his own dump-in, the puck made its way to Kaiden Guhle. Guhle sent a pass to the front of the net that took a deflection off of Phillip Danault’s skate into the goal, giving the Canadiens a 1-0 lead four and a half minutes into the game. The Canadiens doubled their lead 10 minutes later in the dying seconds of a power play.
After a Lane Hutson point shot that gets blocked, Nick Suzuki grabs the loose puck and sends a quick pass to Zachary Bolduc, who, down on one knee, blasts a one-timer past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The goal gave the Canadiens a 2-0 lead, and, in their franchise history, they have yet to lose a Game 7 when leading by multiple goals, 12-0. The Sabres tried their hardest to become the first and got their very own lucky bounce 13 minutes into the second period.
A bouncing puck manages to find Sabres’ defenceman, Mattias Samuelsson, with seven players crowding the net. With Dobes completely blind, Samuelsson fires a shot that goes off of Jordan Greenway’s pants and in. The Sabres cut the lead to one and continue to add on the pressure, outshooting the Canadiens 14-7 in the second. The pressure continued in the third, and seven minutes into the frame, Rasmus Dahlin tied the game from a one-timer that beat Dobes over his shoulder. The Sabres were in full control of the game, but the Canadiens managed to stay alive long enough to get to overtime.
In overtime, the Sabres had their chances early, but Dobes shut the door. The first one came off a Mike Matheson turnover that was picked up by Sabres’ centre Josh Norris, who set up a one-timer opportunity for Zach Benson. Dobes was ready, quickly sliding over to make the save. The Sabres’ next big chance came a couple of minutes later, when Tage Thompson and Benson broke into the Canadiens zone on a two-on-one. Thompson, with the puck, toedrags past a sliding Noah Dobson, but Dobes sticks with him the entire way, giving him no place to shoot the puck. The Canadiens did not let Dobes' effort go to waste, and with less than nine minutes left, they got their chance.
Alexandre Carrier pokes the puck off of Thompson’s stick, picks it up and sends a pass to Newhook, who was streaking into the offensive zone. Newhook slows down a little, just long enough for Jake Evans to skate by and cut Luukkonen’s vision. Newhook, capitalizing on the opportunity, fires a shot that takes a deflection off Dahlin’s stick, fooling Luukkonen with the sudden change of direction. Newhook is the hero once again, punching the Canadiens' ticket to the Eastern Conference Final.
Parallels to the 1993 Canadiens
The Canadiens were the youngest team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and by making the Eastern Conference Finals, they linked themselves to the 1993 team that last won Lord Stanley’s Cup. The Canadiens became the youngest team to make the conference final since the 1993 Canadiens, with the exact same average age of 25.8. Montreal is definitely ahead of schedule in its development, having the first overall pick just four years ago, but there is historical evidence that a team this young can win the Stanley Cup.
Along with the Canadiens team finding similarities to past champions, Dobes found himself in rarefied air with yet another Game 7 win. He joins Ken Dryden as the only other goalie to win two Game 7s on the road in NHL history. Dobes has been incredible the entire playoff run, and after a rough Game 6, there were questions about how he would respond, but it might be time to stop questioning him. When coming off a loss, Dobes has been unbeatable. He is 6-0 following a loss, with a 1.77 goals against average and a .942 save percentage. He has truly been special.
The Canadiens need to find a way to get rested up quickly, with their opponents having been off since May 9th, patiently waiting to find out who they will play. The Hurricanes have made quick work of their first two opponents, only needing eight games combined to get to the conference final. The Canadiens, on the other hand, have had back-to-back seven-game wars. The caveat is that the Canadiens swept the Hurricanes in the regular season series. The Canadiens will need their style of play to continue to cause the Hurricanes problems, especially since they will be the more rested team. Carolina will be the favourites, but Montreal will be looking to make it another war.
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