It’s one more battle between the Canadiens and the Sabres to determine who will play the Carolina Hurricanes in Round 3 of the NHL playoffs.

Buffalo won 8-3 in Game 6, saving off elimination in Montreal and sending the series back to Buffalo for Game 7.

The Canadiens were in this position in the first round, having lost Game 6 at home, before heading to Florida, where they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 in the first round.

Taking a look back at the series, the Sabres won Game 1 by a score of 4-2, while the Habs responded with a 5-1 victory in Game 2. The series shifted to Montreal, where the Canadiens got their second victory, winning 6-2 in Game 3, before the Sabres won Game 4 by a score of 3-2. Game 5 was back in Buffalo, where the Canadiens won 6-3, before the series was back in Montreal for Game 6, in a game that was won 8-3 by the Sabres.

CityNews will have coverage of Game 7, with puck drop being at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Game coverage

The Montreal Canadiens took an early lead in the first period, after Kaiden Guhle shot the puck off Phillip Danault’s skate and past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

PHILLIP DANAULT OPENS THE SCORING IN GAME 7 ???? pic.twitter.com/leWLoOHB7u

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 18, 2026

Just over the halfway point in the first period, Jake Quinn got one of the best chances for the Sabres, but Jakub Dobeš made a beautiful robbery on the chance, to keep Montreal ahead.

On a power play, Nick Suzuki would send a behind-the-back pass out of the corner across the ice to Zachary Bolduc, who would rifle a shot over the shoulder of Luukkonen to make it 2-0 with 6:31 to go in the first period.

ZACHARY BOLDUC WITH AN ABSOLUTE SNIPE ????

MONTREAL HAS A 2-0 LEAD! pic.twitter.com/ifuXCneGv6

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 19, 2026

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