Canadiens advance to Eastern Conference Final with OT win over Sabres
The Montreal Canadiens have advanced to the Eastern Conference final after beating the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 of their second-round series.
The Canadiens will take on the Carolina Hurricanes starting on Thursday, with the Hurricanes looking to stay strong after winning eight straight games.
After the Sabres scored seven unanswered goals in Game 6, the Canadiens wasted no time in getting the offense started in Game 7. Less than five minutes in, Kaiden Guhle threw a puck on net that was tipped by Phillip Danault past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to give the Habs a 1-0 lead.
PHILLIP DANAULT OPENS THE SCORING!!!! 🎥: Sportsnet
Around 10 minutes later, Buffalo’s Zach Benson took a delay of game penalty, and with the man advantage, Zac Bolduc took a pass from Nick Suzuki and buried his third of the playoffs to make it 2-0 Montreal.
ZACH BOLDUC MAKES IT 2-0!!!! 🎥: Sportsnet
Midway through the second period, Mattias Samuelsson pass in front of the Montreal net was deflected into no man’s land, where Jordan Greenway buried it past Jakub Dobes to make it 2-1.
MATTIAS SAMUELSSON GETS ONE BACK!!!!! 🎥: Sportsnet
A little over six minutes into the third period, Owen Power carried the puck across the blue line and cut just above the hashmarks, feeding a streaking Rasmus Dahlin who fired it blocker side on Dobes to tie the game 2-2.
RASMUS DAHLIN TIES IT UP!!!!! 🎥: Sportsnet
Minutes later, the sold-out crowd at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. nearly blew the roof off after Beck Malenstyn banged in a loose puck that squeaked through Dobes legs, but referee Wes McCauley blew the whistle just milliseconds earlier. The score remained 2-2.
The Sabres thought they took the lead, but the referee blew the play dead 🎥: Sportsnet
For the first time in this series, the two teams went to overtime. The two teams exchanged chances through the first 11 minutes. But off a Sabres turnover, Alex Carrier dropped a pass to Alex Newhook, who fired it low gloveside past Luukkonen, giving the Canadiens a 3-2 overtime win and sending the Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Final.
Newhook now has seven goals during the playoffs, tied for the third-most during this spring’s postseason. Dobes made 36 saves in the series-clinching win, while Luukkonen stopped 22 of 24 in a losing effort.
Out west, the Colorado Avalanche will host the Vegas Golden Knights Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Puck drop is 8 p.m. ET.