The Montreal Canadiens have advanced to the conference finals. In a dramatic Game 7, the Canadiens won in overtime in Buffalo. Alex Newhook was the hero again in a 3-2 victory. The Canadiens will face the undefeated Carolina Hurricanes with the first game on Thursday.

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The crowd was pumped in Buffalo. The Canadiens had to find a way to deaden the environment. They did at just 4:30 into the first period. It was yet another game with an early goal. Kaiden Guhle came in from the point, but rather than try a hard shot, he filled the zone that Philip Danault was occupying in front of the net. It hit Phillip Danault’s skate when he missed it with his stick.

Still in the first period, the Canadiens continued with excellence. Cole Caufield earned a puck-over-glass penalty by causing havoc. Zach Benson panicked in his clearing attempt. On the ensuing power play, the second unit was in the process of coming on to the ice.

Lane Hutson threw it at the net. The rebound went to Nick Suzuki, who centred it immediately to Zachary Bolduc. He absolutely wired a shot just under the bar. For a player who had his difficult moments in the regular season, even being sent to the press box, what a thrilling playoff for him. Bolduc, near the top in both points and plus/minus this post-season.

The Canadiens had a chance to make the lead three with a breakaway from 120 feet away, but Alexandre Texier’s excellent deke was stopped by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. It was an outstanding save. It was an outstanding first period.

Besides the goals, there were some stand-out moments in the first:  Josh Anderson was the forward who won the dump-in battle on the first goal. Alexandre Carrier made an outstanding play, breaking up a two-on-one break. Carrier was a beast in the first period. Hutson played half the period.

Most importantly, for the first 20 minutes, the Canadiens handled the Buffalo forecheck that they had no answers for in Game 6.

The second period delivered a moment so intelligent that only Hutson could think of it. Buffalo was banging away at a puck, and Jakub Dobes was having a hard time holding his post. Hutson went behind Dobes into the net, and with both hands, pushed the back of his goalie’s leg as a support for him to hold his ground. Remarkable. Uniquely Hutson. His hockey IQ is genius-level.

The Canadiens missed their second breakaway in the middle frame. Anderson shot high, missing the net and, to add to the frustration, Anderson crashed hard into the goal post after losing his balance.

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In the third period, the Sabres’ extremely aggressive offensive stance caused a third breakaway, and, again, Anderson could not convert with less than three minutes left.

The series clincher went to the first overtime of the series. Suzuki had 25 minutes as a forward of the first 60. Hutson had 27 minutes of the first 60. The head coach leaned on his best players, and they delivered with everything they had.

Five minutes into overtime, Anderson had a clean look and he hit the goal post. At that moment, the series was won with a shot only one-tenth of an inch different from what it was. This is sports.

At 11:22 of the overtime period, Alex Newhook took the puck over the blue line. Jake Evans went to the net to cross in front of the shot. Luukkenen didn’t have a good view of it, and it went over his pad and under his glove. Newhook became the Game 7 winner for the second-straight series. He has seven goals in the playoffs. It’s the first Game 7 overtime winner on the road in the Canadiens’ history.

No look at the heroes can be complete without the story of Jakub Dobes being told. After a defeat, Dobes has six wins and no losses. In the previous five games, Dobes had a .940 save percentage. In this one, he upped that number to a .949 save percentage.

In Goals Saved Above Expected, an absolute theft, once again, from Dobes. He was 2.32. The Sabres were supposed to get 4.32 goals on the night, and they got two. Dobes has the second-best GSAE in these playoffs.

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The Canadiens were absolutely demolished in the sixth game. The goal total was 8-3, but the expected goals were even worse at 7.5 to 2. There was nothing about Game 6 that said that Game 7 was going to be a game of recovery for the Canadiens.

However, this is sports. The Canadiens were much more connected, but they also found the Sabres’ intense forecheck difficult to deal with. Buffalo is extremely aggressive. Their defenders are regularly below the dots on the attack. They will make a club’s defence look bad at times.

However, the give and take is that they’ll allow breakaways when they send so many bodies forward over and over again. They poured it on, and for two periods, the Canadiens soaked it up, allowing only one goal.

The third period was a test that all players need to become great. To know it is all on the line is the ultimate in growth of your game and your character. This was the challenge of their lives. Danault took a penalty early. The Canadiens had a strong kill.

Dobes made a huge save and then was destroyed by Jason Zucker in the crease. No call by the officials as it was 2-1 Montreal and game management theory is more powerful in the NHL than shoulder to the chin. As a comparison to Zucker’s direct shot to Dobes’ face, resulting in no penalty, Bolduc got four minutes earlier in the series for goaltender interference for not actually contacting Alex Lyon.

The biggest issue in the NHL is that there are no standards set. There is only, “What is the score in the game, and how do I manage it?” The thought ‘a penalty is a penalty’ is far removed from any referee’s mind in the NHL. The refs say they want to stay out of it, and by staying out of it, they put themselves right at the very heart of it.

On the ensuing face-off, a face-off that should have been in Buffalo’s zone because of a Montreal power play, Kirby Dach missed who his man was, and the Sabres tied it as Rasmus Dahlin went in untouched. In a man-on-man system, it’s an absolute must to know who your man is. When a mistake is made, a player skates in untouched.

After the 2-2 goal, the Canadiens actually played better, rather than wilting. This segment stops right there because the goalie stopped 37 of 39 shots. The goal was accomplished. Though it wasn’t flawless, and it never is because, believe it or not, the other team is also excellent, the Canadiens have won. They are in the final four.

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They’re just babies, but they’re already going to the conference finals. The rebuild isn’t supposed to go this fast.

Dobes, despite having the strength of character that is well beyond his years and experience, is still a rookie. Suzuki, the team’s captain, still has maybe a decade in front of him. Caufield, the shooter who scored 51 times in the regular season, has far more of his career in front of him than behind him.

The former number one pick, Juraj Slafkovsky, is still developing his game. Hutson, the diminutive defenceman, is already top-five in the league, yet he won the Calder Trophy only last year. A rookie this year, Ivan Demidov, is only just figuring out what it takes, and his game is electrifying already.

This team is so young and has accomplished so much already. It’s stunning. The league is taking notice of this special group.

Now comes an even bigger test. They already beat the fifth-ranked team and the fourth-ranked team, and now they have to take on the second-ranked team. The Carolina Hurricanes are flawless this playoffs with eight straight wins.

However, the Canadiens won’t enter the series intimidated. They are undefeated against the Hurricanes this season. All three games were in 2026. Montreal won 7-5, 5-2 and 3-1.

The Hurricanes will be well rested with 11 days off. The Canadiens will be exhausted with 14 games already played and no rest because it all starts on Thursday in Raleigh, N.C.