Montréal Canadiens closed out their NHL Playoffs series with a 3-2 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres at a full KeyBank Center. Alex Newhook scored the winner in OT to seal the road victory. Buffalo outshot Montréal 39-25, but the visitors were clinical and kept the crease clean when it mattered. The result gives Montréal the series 4-3.

Newhook delivers the winner

Newhook found the net in overtime, finishing a feed from Alexandre Carrier for his seventh goal of the postseason. It capped a night where Montréal soaked up pressure and struck at the perfect moment. Newhook earned the game’s first star, with goaltender Jakub Dobes taking second star after a 37-save performance. Rasmus Dahlin was named third star for Buffalo thanks to his third-period equalizer.

Sabres drive play but fall short

Buffalo controlled much of the game with a 62.5% Corsi and a 60.7% Fenwick, plus a 54% faceoff win rate. They also dominated the extra frame at the dots with 80% of OT faceoffs won. Dobes was the difference, turning aside 36 of 38 at even strength. Montréal helped their goalie with 22 blocked shots and more hits, 28 to Buffalo’s 21.

How the goals came

Phillip Danault opened the scoring in the first period at even strength, assisted by Alexandre Texier and Kaiden Guhle. Zachary Bolduc then buried a power-play chance, set up by Lane Hutson and Nick Suzuki, for a 2-0 Montréal lead.

Buffalo responded through Jordan Greenway in the second, assisted by Beck Malenstyn and Mattias Samuelsson, then Dahlin tied it early in the third from Ryan McLeod and Owen Power. Overtime belonged to Newhook, who finished Carrier’s pass to end the series.

Special teams and key numbers

Special teams proved pivotal: Montréal went 1/1 on the power play while Buffalo finished 0/1. Takeaways favored Montréal 7-3, while giveaways were high on both sides, 22 for the Canadiens and 16 for the Sabres. Attendance hit 19,070, matching the KeyBank Center capacity.

For full box score details, shot maps, advanced metrics and each player’s Sofascore Rating, head to Sofascore, where you can also catch highlights from this NHL Playoffs clash.