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.
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