Sabres vs. Canadiens Game 7 hero discussed by NHL.com staff

The Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres will conclude what's been an epic Eastern Conference Second Round with Game 7 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

There already has been so much drama and so many players stepping up through the first six games. Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in the series and center Tage Thompson has eight (three goals, five assists). Canadiens forward Jake Evans (two goals, five assists) and defenseman Lane Hutson (seven assists) have seven points each.

In a Game 7, anyone can be the hero and have their place etched in their team's history forever, so who will be the hero of Game 7? We asked NHL.com staff writers and editors who have been covering the Stanley Cup Playoffs that very question.

Here are their answers (listed alphabetically by player):

Zach Benson, Sabres

The feisty 21-year-old forward is drawing comparisons to Brad Marchand. He'll keep growing the legend in Game 7. After scoring 13 goals in 65 games of the regular season, he has five goals in 12 games in the playoffs, including three goals in six games against the Canadiens. It was Benson who tied the score 3-3 one minute into the second period of Game 6 after Buffalo trailed 3-1 in the first. It will be Benson who scores the big goal again. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Cole Caufield, Canadiens

It hasn't exactly been the best run for Caufield, who scored just one goal through the first nine games of the playoffs, but he started to find his groove in Game 3 against the Sabres by scoring for the first of three consecutive games. He had an assist in Game 6, giving him five points (three goals, two assists) in his past four. All this from a player who had 88 points (51 goals, 37 assists) in 81 games this season. He also scored 12 game-winning goals, most in the NHL. Why shouldn't he get the game-winner in Game 7? -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer

Caufield

Montreal's first 50-goal scorer in 36 seasons gets it done in Game 7. Caufield scored 51 goals and was the first player in team Canadiens to break the 50-goal plateau since Stephane Richer in 1989-90. If anyone will come up with a big goal, chances are Caufield scores it, helping the Canadiens to the conference final. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

Rasmus Dahlin, Sabres

How do you top a five-point performance (one goal, four assists) in Game 6? You're the one who sends your team to the Eastern Conference Final. That's what I'm seeing with Dahlin, a defenseman who has been a tremendous story all season. His great play is part of it, but he's also been there for his fiancée, Carolina Matovac, who went through difficult health issues, spent several weeks on life support after experiencing heart failure and received a heart transplant that required months of hospitalization and rehab. He's handled it all so well. Now it's time to put a cap on this series. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Ivan Demidov, Canadiens

After not scoring a goal in the first 16 playoff games of his NHL career, the 20-year-old rookie forward has scored in each of the past two and is finding his confidence on offense. Demidov has at least one point in five of the first six games of the series (two goals, four assists) after he had just one point, an assist in Game 1, in seven games against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. He has been building his game as the playoffs have progressed and Game 7 will be his moment. -- Tom Gulitti, senior writer

Demidov

The Canadiens rookie with the electrifying skill and boyish grin went the first 11 games of the 2026 playoffs without a goal. Then he reverted back to using white tape on his stick from the black he'd been trying out. The result? He's scored in two consecutive games and will be looking to keep it going in the win-or-go-home scenario that is Game 7. What better way to end it than with an overtime goal? Hey, in a series that has been as unpredictable as any, having the color of the tape on a guy's stick be a determining factor in the outcome isn't that farfetched in a series that definitely has been. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Lane Hutson, Canadiens

The defenseman might skate all night to get the Canadiens into the Eastern Conference Final. He may not score the goal that will make the difference in the game, but Hutson likely will be involved in the play that leads to it. His ability to hold onto pucks and create offense will also be essential in Game 7. He's fun to watch and you're going to watch Hutson be the biggest difference-maker on all 30 or so of his shifts. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Alex Tuch, Sabres

The second round has not been kind to Tuch. After the Sabres forward had seven points in six games against the Boston Bruins in the first round, he is without a point and is minus-9 against the Canadiens. He admitted after Game 5 he needs to be harder to play against. Well, he has one more chance to do that and I think he will. In fact, put him down right now for the overtime goal for Buffalo, because why not? -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

Tuch

Look, this has not been a banner series for Tuch. He is fighting it. He was stoned twice on breakaways in Game 6 and is 0-for-23 in shots on goal. But forget all that. He looked better in Game 6, and the local boy (Syracuse) knows better than anyone what's on the line Monday at KeyBank Center. He called the opportunity a dream come true and he is going to star in it. Take it to the bank. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial