5 Reasons Why the Montréal Canadiens Are Moving on to the Eastern Conference Final

Monday's Game 7 between the Montréal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres was the conclusion to the series that had to go the distance.

That it wasn't settled in regulation made even more sense, and that it ended with Alex Newhook scoring the overtime winner shouldn't have surprised anyone who's been watching the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Canadiens' 3-2 overtime win ended what was an incredible series between two of the youngest and best teams in this year's playoffs, and Montréal's reward for moving on is a date with the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference Final.

After a 106-point season and vanquishing the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games in the first round, the Canadiens are showing they're very much for real and using speed, skill, and the kind of swagger that comes with success to carry them forward.

There are plenty of reasons the Canadiens got to the East Final, and we're going to highlight the biggest ones here in the wake of an incredible series.

Jakub Dobeš Remains Unflappable

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A big reason the Canadiens were able to outlast the Sabres was goaltending. That's all because of the confidence, talent, and (rightful) cockiness of Jakub Dobeš.

A game after he allowed six goals to the Sabres in Game 6, he came back in Game 7 with 37 saves and again proved to be the guy who can take care of business after a loss. The Canadiens improved to 6-0 following a loss, and Dobeš putting in the work is a huge part of that, with a .942 save percentage in those six games.

The biggest thing any team needs to succeed is a goalie who can carry the weight of expectations and make saves in the big moments. Dobeš has done that countless times through these playoffs, and doing so for a team and in a city that holds its goaltenders in the highest of esteem when they're playing great, a legend is being built in real time.

Canadiens' Depth Is Giving Them Life

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Alex Newhook, Rasmus Dahlin and Jake Evans

It's easy to look at the Canadiens roster and highlight the likes of Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki, and while those players all had success against Buffalo, when you look further down the lineup, some of the difference makers came from there.

Alex Newhook put the Sabres on their heels throughout the series and wreaked havoc on the Lightning in the first round.

Newhook had the game-winning goal in Game 7 against both teams and became the second player in NHL history to do that (Nathan Horton with Boston in 2011 is the other). He had six goals against Buffalo and used his speed to help give the Sabres fits despite their own speed available to counter him.

"I wasn't sure if Jake touched it, so I kind of looked at him to see if he was going to celebrate or not, but I mean, you know, it's a crazy feeling, a lot of emotion, obviously," Newhook said. "It was a war all series long, and you know, for it to end up being Game 7 in overtime, sometimes it just takes one shot, and coming across the line, just thought there was a shot opportunity."

Newhook's linemate, Jake Evans, helped create chaos by both creating odd-man rushes with him and using Newhook's speed to open up opportunities by putting the puck in space for him. Newhook and Evans each had seven points against the Sabres and that's a lot of damage done from guys who aren't the star players.

Veteran center Philip Danault was a menace at the dot against Buffalo. He won more than 57 percent of his draws in all situations and was able to make life harder on Buffalo's pivots.

In the games where the Sabres struggled hardest overall, a lot of that began at the faceoff dot and Danault was a key reason for that.

Lane Hutson and the Canadiens Power Play

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The X-factor effect that defenseman Lane Hutson provides the Canadiens is a game-and-series-changing weapon to go off at any time, but it's on the power play that he proved to be the most dangerous.

Hutson led the Canadiens scorers against Buffalo with eight points, all assists, but six of those came on the power play. His ability to speed past defenders, use his agility to make them miss, and his vision to find players open for shots is incredible. With the extra man, he gave the Sabres fits from the top of the zone.

Hutson played like that in the regular season, and 20 of his 78 points came on the power play then, but when the opportunities stacked up against Buffalo, he made them pay dearly for careless stick infractions. Having him out there with Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Ivan Demidov, and Juraj Slafkovský gives them one of the most dangerous power-play units in the NHL. They showed that repeatedly against the Sabres.

If the Hurricanes aren't careful, they could suffer the same fate of seeing Hutson juke, dangle, and dish against them to create headaches.

Nick Suzuki's Steady Play Guides Montréal

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After putting a goal and five assists up in the first round against Tampa Bay, Nick Suzuki had three goals and four assists against Buffalo. He's the Canadiens leading scorer at forward in the playoffs, and just a point behind Lane Hutson for the team lead. Leaders have to lead in the playoffs, and that's precisely what Suzuki is doing.

Even though Suzuki is still just 26 years old, he's seen and been through plenty as the Canadiens have rebuilt. Being the team captain and seeing them through all of this to the Eastern Conference Final is proof that he's been the right player to lead the way.

"It's been a long journey, for sure," Suzuki said. "From when we went to the Cup Final (in 2021), then we finished last place in the whole league, to where we are now, there's been a lot of different steps... It's really cool to be in this situation, this fast, and being such a young team. Now we just have a lot of fun and just want to keep the journey going."

It Never Hurts to Have a Little Luck, Either

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Teams can play great all the time, but teams can still play a nearly perfect game and lose if luck isn't on their side. It just so happens that the Montréal Canadiens are good and had some good luck, too.

In Game 7 against Tampa Bay, the Canadiens famously beat the Lightning 2-1 while putting up nine shots on goal, and both goals came with a healthy dose of puck luck.

In Monday's Game 7 against Buffalo, after getting a 2-0 lead, the Habs sought to ride it out for the better part of two periods only to see the Sabres roar back, tie the game, and put them under pressure for most of the final 30 minutes. In that time, Tage Thompson and Zach Benson had a 2-on-1 where if Thompson finds Benson, we very well may not be writing about any of this right now and preparing for a different conference final.

That said, if ifs and buts were goals and assists, lots of teams would go undefeated. The Canadiens got the job done despite the number of chances against that could've gone the other way. To the victor go the spoils, and those taste oh, so sweeter when there's a little bit of luck involved in the end.