Newhook continues to shine ‘on the biggest stage’ with Canadiens 

BUFFALO -- It was well past midnight in St. John’s, Newfoundland, when Alex Newhook, the newly anointed “Mr. Game 7,” sent the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Final with an overtime goal for a thrilling 3-2 victory against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Monday.

In terms of time zones, St. John’s is 90 minutes ahead of western New York, where Newhook’s latest heroics had just taken place. It was, therefore, already Tuesday in his home province when he scored in what was still Monday here.

No matter. When it comes to honoring one of its native sons, time is irrelevant.

As such, 2,000 miles to the east of where Newhook had just written the latest chapter in his developing Cinderella tale, celebrations lasted deep into the night in his hometown, where buildings could be seen lit up in Canadiens bleu-blanc-rouge in his honor.

Indeed, Newhook is no longer just a Montreal story. He’s a national story.

“Alex Newhook is delivering in the biggest moments, and all of Newfoundland and Labrador is cheering him on. What a run. Go Habs Go!” Newfoundland Premier Tony Wakeham posted on social media moments after Newhook’s shot eluded the glove of Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen at 11:22 of overtime.

“Congrats Alex! Good luck in the Conference Finals!” John Hogan, Leader of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Official Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party, posted on Facebook.

Wakeham and Hogan might be on opposite sides of the political spectrum. But when it comes to Newhook, they’ve found common ground.

For his part, the 25-year-old forward is beginning to understand the impact he is having on this Stanley Cup Playoff run, not only on the scoreboard but Canadiens fans throughout Canada.

Of course, one set in particular.

"It takes the whole group to get where we're at right now, but I'm very proud to be from Newfoundland and Labrador, and to be able to represent my province on the biggest stage here in the playoffs,” he said about 30 minutes after the victory. “It's a lot of fun.

“I'm sure back home, everyone's having a great time right now. I don't think the time of day really matters to them, so I'm sure they're having a good time back home.”

The same could be said of the thousands who attended watch parties in Montreal, where chants of “Newhook, Newhook!” are becoming commonplace.

With good reason.

Newhook and the Canadiens have captured the imagination of their hockey-crazed market and across Canada. It’s easy to see why.

Consider that Montreal -- with an average age of 25.8 years -- is the youngest conference finalist in more than three decades, tying the 1993 team that went on to win the Stanley Cup. No Canadian-based team has won the Cup since.

The trademark of that particular championship team was its ability to come through in the biggest of moments, a trend symbolized by the NHL-record 10 overtime wins during the postseason run.

Thirty-three years later, it is Newhook who has emerged as a difference-maker in the clutch.

He scored the Game 7 winner in the first round against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a 2-1 victory that allowed the Canadiens to advance, swatting a puck out of mid-air from behind the goal line that went in off the back of goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.

On Monday -- Tuesday in Newfoundland -- he provided another Game 7 moment.

Newhook had 25 points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 42 regular-season games, missing nearly half the season after breaking his ankle in November. He scored just once in Montreal’s final seven regular-season games and offered little indication of the postseason exploits he was about to showcase.

But the Stanley Cup Playoffs have a history of producing unsung heroes, with names such as David Volek and John Druce coming to mind.

And now, it’s Newhook.

“I think his work ethic,” teammate Josh Anderson said when asked what makes Newhook a special player. “I mean, he’s got a motor on him. He never stops working. He’s great on the forecheck  He’s got some great skill. He’s quick. He does it all out there, so it was nice for him to get rewarded.

“He’s had a tremendous playoffs.”

His storybook run began when he scored the series winner in Tampa. It was fitting he was able to celebrate the occasion in the dressing room at Benchmark International Arena, the same space where he hoisted the Stanley Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche in 2022.

On June 27, 2023, the Canadiens acquired Newhook in a trade with the Avalanche. Newhook was represented by Kent Hughes, then an agent, before the latter became Montreal’s general manager, so there was a mutual understanding of what Newhook’s potential might be.

Three years later, it’s on display for the entire hockey world to see.

After thrusting the final dagger into the Lightning, he followed it up by scoring five goals in three games, spanning from Games 2-4, against the Sabres, then saved the best for last on Monday.

Entering Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, HBO Max, truTV, SN, CBC, TVAS), Newhook is tied for third in goals (seven) this postseason with Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, Vegas Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner, Minnesota Wild forward Matt Boldy and Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven. Those four, it could be argued, are bigger names in the game. None of them, however, have repeatedly scored bigger goals in these playoffs than Newhook.

To that end, Newhook became just the second player in NHL history to score multiple Game 7 winning goals in a postseason, joining Nathan Horton of the Boston Bruins in 2011.

“A lot of emotions for sure,” Newhook said. “I mean, it’s a group effort all series long. We had a lot of guys step up at different moments, and we found a way, and we’re moving forward. So, it’s exciting.”

No one, it seems, is a bigger Newhook fan than Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes, who was a star in his own right Monday, making 37 saves on the heels of nearly being pulled in Game 5 and getting the hook late in Game 6.

“I'm so happy for him,” Dobes said. “When he went down and injured himself, it was tough. But like, he deserves it. He deserves everything that is happening to him. He works hard. He puts his head down. He is an unbelievable teammate, unbelievable friend. So, just really happy for him, and I know he's going to keep going because he is a really humble and hungry guy.

“And yeah, he's still my age, so he's just going to get better. I mean, what a hell of a player.”

From Montreal’s famed Crescent St. to the heralded George St. in St. John’s, fans across Canada on Tuesday couldn’t agree more.