MTL@BUF: Game recap | Game 7

BUFFALO – The Canadiens struck twice in the opening frame and Alex Newhook scored his second consecutive Game 7 winner as Montreal defeated Buffalo 3-2 to book its ticket to the Eastern Conference Final on Monday.

Phillip Danault got his first goal of the 2026 playoffs and Zachary Bolduc padded the lead with a power play marker in the first period, although the Sabres evened the score with goals from Jordan Greenway and Rasmus Dahlin to force overtime in the deciding game.

Newhook ripped a wrister from high on the faceoff circle at 11:22 of extra time to send Montreal to the next round. He is just the second player in NHL history to score multiple Game 7 series-clinching goals in a single postseason.

Eight different Canadiens players earned a point in the win, while Jakub Dobes made 37 saves in goal for Montreal.

For more stats, check out the NHL’s Gamecenter summary here.

Roster

Montreal goals

P1 04:30 [1]-0 Danault (Guhle, Texier)

P1 14:29 [2]-0 Bolduc (Suzuki, Hutson) - PPG

OT1 11:22 [3]-2 Newhook (Carrier)

Buffalo goals

P2 13:19 2-[1] Samuelsson (Malenstyn Greenway)

P3 06:27 2-[2] Dahlin (Power, McLeaod)

What’s next

The Canadiens will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final, with Game 1 scheduled for Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET at Raleigh’s Lenovo Center.