Canadiens are playoff giant killers thanks to two underdogs who refuse to quit
BUFFALO – The Montreal Canadiens’ Game 7 triumph felt anything but scripted. Actually, for three and a half periods, the hockey gods appeared to be penning a beautiful narrative for the home team.
The Buffalo Sabres, the most inspiring, improbable story of the 2025-26 season, where not to be denied. They quickly fell behind the Habs 2-0 in the first period of Monday night’s Game 7 at KeyBank Center, initially on a redirection off the skate of Phillip Danault, then on a power-play rocket from Zachary Bolduc. But the Sabres, just as they did in a memorable Game 1 rally against the Boston Bruins in the first round and in their thrilling road comeback in Game 6 against the Habs two days ago, began to chip away.
First came wave after wave of heavy forechecks, buzzing around Habs goaltender Jakub Dobes as scuffling stars Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch showed signs of a pulse. Then came the first Buffalo goal, with Jordan Greenway deflecting a seeing-eye Mattias Samuelsson knuckler past a screened Dobes in the second period. Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin had his rousing moment at 6:27 of the third, accepting a pass from Owen Power and beating Dobes, who had come out too far to challenge, tying the game and causing KeyBank Center to erupt. The Sabres outchanced the Habs 40-23 at 5-on-5 in regulation. Buffalo dominated the play, particularly in periods 2 and 3, and it felt like a matter of time before they took the lead and closed out the series. They even appeared to have their go-ahead goal when checking forward Beck Malenstyn banged home a loose puck trickling behind Dobes, but the play had been blown dead.
Montreal stayed alive, somehow. The team that hasn’t lost two games in a row since March 14 and 15 wormed its way into an overtime period that probably shouldn’t have happened.
One reason, of course, was the play of Dobes, the emblem of the Canadiens’ remarkable resiliency in these Stanley Cup playoffs. He weathered a blitz of 39 Buffalo shots, turning aside 37, including a crucial one in tight on dangerous rookie Konsta Helenius late in the third period. Not bad for a goaltender who was torched for six goals and pulled in his home rink 48 hours prior.
But here’s the thing: Dobes wasn’t even in his head about Saturday’s stinker. He’d moved on and even weaponized it for his own good.
“I actually felt really good last game, so I kept [things the same], a couple of tweaks, but I felt pretty good the last game,” he said. “So emotionally, yeah, for sure I wanted to be better. But I think me getting pulled at home was kind of a wakeup call, and I took it personal.”
As the Sabres appeared to take over Game 7, feeding off momentum from the crowd, Dobes didn’t see it that way. He liked hearing the Buffalo faithful jeer him.
“Their fans like to chant my name. I like that too. Thank you, thanks for that,” Dobes said. “Actually that was giving me fire, because I like when you’re the villain.”
It was classic Dobes. He was the supposed “other guy” on the Habs’ depth chart entering this season, with Sam Montembeault the starter, Dobes the No. 2 and Jacob Fowler the heir apparent, but Dobes seized the crease in the second half of 2025-26, going 11-5-0 with a .916 save percentage after the Olympic break, and he refuses to let his underdog story end.
“He’s been great this whole playoffs,” said right winger Josh Anderson. “We have the most confidence in him back there. He’s made some huge saves in games both series. So we just knew he was gonna have a big night tonight and stand on his head there.”
Finishing off Montreal’s 3-2 win: another underdog. Alex Newhook entered this season with two goals in 32 playoff games. His overtime winner Monday, a wrister past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from the top of the left faceoff circle, was Newhook’s seventh goal of the 2025-26 playoffs and his second consecutive Game 7 series winner after he got the big one versus the Tampa Bay Lightning as well. The man who’s never topped 15 goals in an NHL regular season has gone full Fernando Pisani in Rounds 1 and 2, putting punctuation marks on a campaign that screeched to a halt in November when he fractured his ankle. Newhook, a 2019 first-round pick who never realized his potential with the Colorado Avalanche, has become a crucial member of Montreal’s middle six, backing opponents up with his explosive speed, and he gave his native Newfoundland a memorable gift Monday night.
“It takes a whole group to get where we are right now, but I’m very proud to be from Newfoundland and Labrador and be able to represent my province on the biggest stage here in the playoffs,” Newhook said. “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.”
“I’m so happy for him,” Dobes said. “When he went down and injured himself [in November], it was tough, but he deserves [the overtime goal], 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’s a really humble and hungry guy. He’s still my age, so he’s just going to get better.”
The Habs are obviously an excellent hockey team, blessed with a 50-goal scorer in Cole Caufield, a 100-point captain in Nick Suzuki and an elite all-around defenseman in Lane Hutson, but they have their warts. They allow too many quality looks on their goaltender; in 14 games this postseason, the other team has generated more 5-on-5 chances eight times. They held on for dear life for two periods in Game 7 Monday night. But it just doesn’t seem to matter. The youngest NHL team to reach the Conference Final since 1993 oozes belief under Martin St. Louis, a coach who has always given his players the latitude to bend, make mistakes, and bounce back from them stronger.
“There’s days that are better than others, but we just come every day trying to win that day,” St. Louis said. “Maybe it’s that mentality that has accelerated us.”
Few Habs emblemize this identity more than Dobes and Newhook. They continue to defy the odds for a team that has slain two of the Eastern Conference’s most formidable clubs. The Carolina Hurricanes haven’t lost a game yet this postseason, but they’d be unwise to overlook a Montreal team that rises to its feet like a zombie after every setback.
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