Canadiens become youngest team to advance to Conference Final since 1993
With their 3-2 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 of their semifinal series, the Montreal Canadiens became the youngest team to advance to the Conference Finals since … the Montreal Canadiens, in 1993.
Alex Newhook scored the series-winning goal for the Canadiens at the 11:22 mark of overtime on Monday, setting the stage for Montreal to face the Carolina Hurricanes in the East Final. That series is slated to begin on Thursday.
Shortly after Montreal clinched the series, the NHL’s Public Relations office revealed that the Canadiens — with an average age of 25.8 years — are the youngest conference finalist in more than three decades, tying their 1993 counterparts, who went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Based on their Round 1, Game 1 roster, the 1993 Canadiens also had an average age of 25.8. That spring, the Habs ultimately defeated the Los Angeles Kings four games to one in the Stanley Cup Final.
The @CanadiensMTL earned their fourth Conference Finals/Semifinals appearance since 2010 (also 2021, 2014 & 2010). Only two teams have more over that span: the Lightning (7) and Rangers (5). #StanleyCup #NHLStats: media.nhl.com/public/live-up…
The average age of this year’s Canadiens squad is brought down by the likes of Lane Hutson (22), Ivan Demidov (20), Juraj Slafkovsky (22), Jacob Fowler (21), and Zach Bolduc (23). The Canadiens only have four players over age 30 on their playoff roster: Brendan Gallagher (34), Philip Danault (33), Josh Anderson (32), and Mike Matheson (32).
However, the Canadiens also have much more than their fair share of significant playoff experience, owing to their recent (and unexpected) trip to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021. Six members of their current roster took part in that playoff run: Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Jake Evans, Gallagher, Danault, and Anderson.
The 1993 Canadiens only had three players in their 30s at the time: Denis Savard (32), Guy Carbonneau (33), and Rob Ramage (34). Most of that team’s top players were in their early-to-mid-20s, including Patrick Roy, Vincent Damphousse, Kirk Muller, and Eric Desjardins.
This year’s Canadiens will face off against the Hurricanes for only the third time in their history, and the first time since 2006, when they lost to Carolina in six games in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. The Canadiens previously took on the Hartford Whalers on five separate occasions, winning each time, prior to the franchise’s relocation in 1997.