The Buffalo Sabres saw their improbable playoff run come to an end Monday night, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of their second-round series at KeyBank Center. Buffalo erased a two-goal deficit to force overtime, but Alex Newhook’s winner 11:22 into the extra period sent Montreal to the Eastern Conference Final and closed the book on the Sabres’ breakthrough season.
After falling behind 2-0, Buffalo clawed its way back midway through the second period when Jordan Greenway redirected a shot from Mattias Samuelsson past Jakub Dobes to cut the deficit in half.
The Sabres continued pushing in the third and finally broke through when Rasmus Dahlin fired home the tying goal with 13:33 remaining, igniting the crowd at KeyBank Center.
Buffalo nearly grabbed the lead moments later. Greenway jammed a puck through Dobes’ pads before Beck Malenstyn knocked it across the goal line, but officials waved the play dead because of an early whistle, keeping the game tied.
Anthony Volpe delivers grand slam, career-high five RBI in return as Yankees sweep Rockies Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen kept the Sabres alive throughout the night with 22 saves, including key breakaway stops on Alexandre Texier and Josh Anderson. Dobes answered at the other end with 39 saves, including six more in overtime before Newhook ended the game.
Though the season finished one win short of the conference final, Buffalo completed one of the franchise’s most memorable turnarounds. The Sabres climbed from last place in December to capture the Atlantic Division title, snapped a 14-year playoff drought, and earned their first postseason series victory since 2007.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to kyle@fingerlakes1.com.