BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� First, Tampa Bay. Now Buffalo. Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Newhook keeps coming up big in Game 7s.
The 25-year-old scored his second seventh-game, series-clincher of the playoffs 鈥� this time 11:22 into overtime 鈥� in the a 3-2 win over the Sabres on Monday night.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a crazy feeling,鈥� Newhook said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 fun. It鈥檚 why you play the game. I think we played well enough to win, so we鈥檙e looking forward now.鈥�
After Buffalo鈥檚 Tage Thompson and captain Rasmus Dahlin misplayed the puck at Montreal鈥檚 blue line, defenseman Alexandre Carrier drove up the right wing before sending a cross-ice pass, hitting Newhook in stride entering the Buffalo zone.
Just before reaching the top of the left circle, and with linemate Jake Evans flashing in front of goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Newhook snapped a shot just inside the far right post. It was his team-leading seventh goal of the postseason and with 8:53 left in regulation that broke a 1-1 tie in of its first-round series at Tampa Bay.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 sure if Jake touched it, so I kind of looked at him to see if he was going to celebrate or not,鈥� Newhook said. “Great to see you find the back of the net. And there鈥檚 no better feeling celebrating with your teammates after a win like that.鈥�
Newhook is now among only 14 NHL players with two career game-winning goals in Game 7, with Boston鈥檚 Nathan Horton (2011) the only other one to do so in a single postseason.
鈥淚鈥檓 so happy for him,鈥� Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes said, noting Newhook missed three months of the season with a broken ankle. 鈥淗e deserves it. He deserve all, everything that is happening to him. … I mean, what a hell of a player.鈥�
Montreal won despite squandering a 2-0 first-period lead, with Dahlin forcing overtime by scoring 6:27 into the third period. And they improved to 17-9 in Game 7s, passing Boston for most seventh-game victories in the NHL playoffs.
The Canadiens advance to the Eastern Conference finals, where they鈥檒l face in a series set to open at Carolina on Thursday. The Hurricanes have swept each of their first two series, and been off since against Philadelphia on May 9.
Carolina鈥檚 11-day break between playoffs games is the longest in NHL history.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be important to take a second and enjoy this but turn the page pretty quickly,鈥� said Mike Matheson. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e had a lot of time off, a lot of time to prepare, so we鈥檙e going to have to flip that switch very quickly.鈥�
Phillip Danault and Zachary Bolduc also scored for the Canadiens. Dobes finished with 37 saves in bouncing back after allowing six goals on 33 shots in an 8-3 loss in Game 6 on Saturday.
Montreal has not lost consecutive games since mid-March, while Dobes improved to 6-0 this postseason when coming off a loss.
Jordan Greenway also scored for Buffalo, while Luukkonen finished with 22 saves.
鈥淚t hurts. I told the teams, it hurts,鈥� coach Lindy Ruff said. 鈥淭he pain will go away. But I won鈥檛 let this one game define the season we had. I told the players how proud I was of them.鈥�
Buffalo dropped to 1-7 in Game 7, including 1-3 in overtime.
The Sabres enter their offseason following a breakout year in which they won their first Atlantic Division title and ended an Buffalo鈥檚 turnaround began in early December, when the team went from last in the East standings to finish second by going 39-9-5 over its final 53 games.
The Sabres鈥� first-round win over Boston was their first since 2007, and the team returns a young and talented group that reflects a promising future in Buffalo.
The Canadiens advance to the NHL鈥檚 semifinal round for the first time since facing Vegas in the COVID-altered 2021 playoffs, in which Montreal eventually lost the Stanley Cup Final in five games to Tampa Bay.
Montreal has essentially been rebuilt since, and continue their upward trajectory a year after being eliminated in the first round by Washington.
Newhook is part of the new-look Canadiens. He鈥檚 in his second season in Montreal after winning the Stanley Cup with the 2022 Colorado Avalanche.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a confident group,鈥� Newhook said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e added some pieces, and I think everyone鈥檚 kind of come together to play together and play their role to the best of their ability this far in playoffs. We鈥檝e got to keep it rolling.鈥�
This is the first playoff meeting between the two teams since Carolina beat Montreal in six games of a 2006 first-round series. The Hurricanes also beat Montreal in 2002, after going 0-5 against the Canadiens when the franchise was based in Hartford, Connecticut.
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