The Montreal Canadiens were dominated for much of Game 7, but Jakub Dobes and Alex Newhook teamed up to send them to the third round.
After a despicable effort in Game 6 at the Bell Centre, the Montreal Canadiens were hoping to bounce back in Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres. Martin St-Louis’ men were looking to deliver a better performance than they had in their last Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. While they had come away with the win, they had only managed to get nine shots on goal. After making no lineup changes in the first six games of the series, Montreal’s bench boss elected to replace Joe Veleno with Oliver Kapanen, who hadn’t played since Game 4 of the first-round.
A Strong Start
The Habs had only scored first once in the series, and in the last two games, their top line had committed a turnover early on to hand the Sabres the lead on a silver platter. In this crucial game, the coach elected to change things up, starting the defensively responsible Jake Evans alongside Alex Newhook and Ivan Demidov.
Not only did the Canadiens not concede early on, but they also opened the score before the clock hit five minutes. Kaiden Guhle fed Phillip Danault on the doorstep, and the veteran made no mistake. It was the blueliner’s sixth assist of the playoffs, and is third in a Game 7. 10 minutes later, on the power play, Zachary Bolduc doubled the Habs’ lead and quieted the Buffalo crowd. After 20 minutes, the Canadiens had a 2-0 lead and 11 shots, two more than they did in the entire final game against Tampa.
Two-Sided Coin
Once again in this game, Jakub Dobes was a key player for the Canadiens, making several key saves and being aggressive and proactive in and around the net. While most of the time that has served him well, he was partly responsible for the Sabres’ first goal when he harpooned the puck as Beck Malenstyn was coming from behind the net, and it bounced right to Mattias Samuelsson in the slot. The defenseman launched a shot that bounced off Jordan Greenway, bringing Buffalo back within one.
That being said, the goaltender must have felt like he needed to lend a hand as the Canadiens were stuck in their zone for an extended period of time for a second shift in a row. In that second frame, Dobes faced 14 Buffalo shots and stopped them all but one, which is why he was all smiles heading back to the room. The Canadiens have got to do something about the way they tend to let their opponent take over once they have the lead; they have to match their desperation and urgency, even if they feel like they are in the driver’s seat. It’s cost them dearly in Game 6 and led to a complete unravelling.
The third period wasn’t kind to Dobes; he was hit in the head by Jason Zucker's shoulder in the crease after making a desperate save, and there was no call. Granted, the Canadiens’ netminder might have tried to sell it too hard, but if that’s what the referee thought, he should have called the goalie interference and the embellishment. Shortly after that play, Rasmus Dahlin tied up the game, going upstairs near post on the Czech netminder.
Mr. Game 7
If Cole Caufield has earned his Mr. Saturday Night nickname, Alex Newhook is slowly but surely working on getting the Mr. Game 7 moniker. After sealing the deal in Game 7 against the Lightning, it was the Newfoundlander who found the back of the net in overtime on Monday night. He’s the only player on the Canadiens’ roster with a Stanley Cup ring, and it shows.
While he had only two shots on goal, he made seven attempts over nearly 72 minutes and landed three hits. Full marks to Alexandre Carrier for the good first pass and to Jake Evans for driving to the net and screening Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
One shouldn’t forget about Dobes, however. He stopped 37 of the 39 shots he faced for a .949 save percentage and, as unbelievable as it may sound, his save percentage was even better in the seventh game against Tampa when he made 28 saves on 29 shots for a .966 SV.
14 games are a lot of action for a goaltender in the playoffs, but when asked if he was getting tired after the game, he smiled and replied that he could easily play 40 more games. That will be music to the Canadiens’ fans’ ears as he’ll have at least another four to play in. Dobes also sent his thanks to Buffalo’s fans, saying he loves being the villain and how they were calling his name.
Montreal will now face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Conference Final. While the Habs just went through two hard-fought seven games series, the Canes have swept both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers on their way to a fourth Conference Final since 2018-2019. However, they are 1-12 in the third round in that timespan. They had also reached the Conference Final back in 2008-2009, and lost to the Penguins in four games.
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