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TAMPA, FLORIDA - MAY 03: Jakub Dobes #75 of the Montréal Canadiens makes a save against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena on May 03, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Alex Newhook!! Is the Monday night hero for the Montreal Canadiens. Montreal’s Newhook rifled one past the Sabres’ goaltender in the overtime period to win the tense and gritty Game 7 3-2 in OT.

It’s the second straight series that Alex Newhook has scored a game-seven game-clinching goal (Tampa Bay Lightning. Montreal has advanced to face the Carolina Hurricanes. The Eastern Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin on Thursday at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

What a game it was on Monday night at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The road team won the last four games of this series, and the Buffalo Sabres played their hearts out for the better half of this Game 7, but were unable to pick up an OT goal. Buffalo was down 2-0 in the first period, and came up with the equalizer in the third period (Rasmus Dahlin). Phillip Denault and Zack Bolduc scored for the Habs in the first period.

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Canadiens Advance to Play Carolina Hurricanes in Stanley Cup Playoffs

GettySEATTLE, WASHINGTON – MARCH 12: Alex Newhook #15 and Joshua Roy #89 of the Montreal Canadiens look on during the first period against the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena on March 12, 2025, in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

You have to give a lot of credit to Canadiens’ netminder Jakub Dobes, who came up with save after save in OT and down the stretch of the third period. Martin St. Louis has also been such a strong leader who has been able to keep this Canadiens group together.

Now, it’s all laid out, and the Canadiens have a date with the Hurricanes. Carolina has not lost a game in the NHL Playoffs to this point, but now it’s down to just two teams left in the Eastern Conference with a trip to the Stanley Cup Final on the line. Carolina has not seen a team like the Canadiens yet.

Jakub Dobes had 37 saves in Game 7 against the Sabres. He’s been a revelation for the Canadiens in some of their huge wins in these playoffs.

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Canadiens Moving On to Face Carolina Hurricanes in ECF

GettyMONTREAL, CANADA – MAY 16: Jason Zucker #17 of the Buffalo Sabres celebrates after scoring on Jakub Dobes #75 of the Montréal Canadiens during the first period in Game Six of the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre on May 16, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

The Eastern Conference Finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs are set: It will be the Carolina Hurricanes against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens were 3-0 against the Hurricanes in the regular season.

Montreal will certainly come into this series against the Hurricanes as underdogs, but the Habs have been such a resilient team over the past month. They’ve played in two Game 7’s already and are very battle-tested. No doubt about it, this should be a very entertaining ECF between Montreal and Carolina.

Carolina comes into the series with its star players being Seth Jarvis, Sebastian Aho, Logan Stankoven, Freddie Anderson, and Jaccob Slavin.

Montreal’s star players include Jakub Dobes, Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Jake Evans.