Tuch says playing Game 7 with childhood favorite Sabres is ‘dream come true'

MONTREAL — Alex Tuch said he’s spent every day that he’s been home the past three or four months playing mini-sticks with three-and-a-half-year-old son Tripp.

On each occasion, the scenario is the same.

It’s Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and everything is on the line.

On Monday, the scenario so often replicated in father-and-son playtime fantasy will turn into a reality. Indeed, at that time, Tuch and the Buffalo Sabres will host the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round (7:30 p.m ET: ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

For the kid who grew up a Buffalo fan in Syracuse where one of his neighbors was then-Sabres forward Tim Connolly, it doesn’t get any better than this.

“It’s hard to explain,” he said Sunday. “Everybody’s going to have nerves. Everyone’s sitting in the same spot. If you’re not nervous, you’re not human. 

“But it’s exciting. Have fun with it. It’s the reason why we play hockey. It’s what you thought about when you were playing street hockey and playing in the backyard. It’s what you dream of.

“And for me to do it at KeyBank Center is a dream come true.”

Tuch is one of the few Sabres to have played in a Game 7. He’s played in three, winning two, though the first is one he’d rather forget.

On April 23, 2019, Tuch’s Vegas Golden Knights were up 3-0 against the San Jose Sharks when Vegas’ Cody Eakin received a five-minute major for cross checking Joe Pavelski in the third period. San Jose scored four power-play goals in 4:01 to take a 4-3 lead. After Jonathan Marchessault tied the game 4-4 for the Golden Knights with 47 seconds remaining in the third period, Barclay Goodrow scored 18:19 into overtime to win the first-round series for the Sharks.

“That was pretty devastating,” Tuch recalled. “We thought we were the better team … That was a crazy game, one I’ll never forget but, yeah, that was one of the lows.”

His next two Game 7s went better with the Golden Knights, a 3-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks in the second round in 2020 and a 6-2 win against the Minnesota Wild in the 2021 first round.

“I’ll try to give some of my wisdom but, at the same time, I don’t want to talk too much about my past experiences or what could go right or wrong,” Tuch said. “I’ve said it 100 times: You’ve just got to go out and play hockey.

“I think we’re the better team. And I think we’re going to come out and compete hard. That’s all we can control.”