Alex Newhook scores Game 7 overtime

Alex Newhook ended Montreal’s second-round series at 11:22 of overtime on Monday, May 18, scoring in a 3-2 Canadiens win over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. NHL.com said the goal sent Montreal into the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes. CBS Sports said Buffalo had forced the deciding game by winning Game 6 by an 8-3 score. The result completed the NHL’s final four, with Carolina and Montreal set in the East and Colorado and Vegas in the West, according to NHL.com’s conference-finals schedule page. Carolina entered the matchup after sweeping its first two playoff rounds, the Hurricanes said on their team site. (nhl.com) ### How did Game 7 end? Alex Newhook scored the winner by driving up the left side and beating Buffalo goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen inside the far post, according to NHL.com’s game recap and Associated Press coverage carried by Newsday. NHL.com said the goal came with 8:38 left in overtime. (nhl.com) Montreal won the game 3-2 after regulation ended tied, according to NHL.com’s gamecenter and Fox Sports’ box score. CBC also reported that the Canadiens advanced with the overtime victory on Monday night. ### Why was there a Game 7 in the first place? Buffalo reached a winner-take-all game by routing Montreal 8-3 in Game 6, according to Yahoo Sports coverage syndicated by MSN and a Buffalo News preview published before Monday’s game. (nhl.com) The Buffalo News report said the Sabres scored seven unanswered goals in that Game 6 win. (nhl.com) CBS Sports said the overtime finish reversed the momentum Buffalo created by extending the series. The Sabres’ Game 6 win set up the only second-round series in the East to go the distance. ### Why is Newhook the central figure here? Alex Newhook, 25, recorded his second Game 7-winning goal of this postseason, the Associated Press said. (msn.com) AP said he had also scored the deciding goal in Game 7 of Montreal’s first-round series against Tampa Bay. Newhook told the Associated Press, “It’s a crazy feeling,” after the win. (cbssports.com) AP said the latest goal again made him the series-clincher for a Canadiens team that has now survived two seventh games in the same playoff run. ### Was there another swing moment in overtime? Buffalo had a would-be go-ahead goal waved off before Newhook scored, according to Yahoo Sports. (newsday.com) Yahoo said the Sabres celebrated briefly before officials informed them the play would not count. That sequence left the score tied and kept overtime going long enough for Montreal to find the winner. (newsday.com) NHL.com’s recap then recorded Newhook’s goal as the play that ended the series. ### What comes next for Montreal? The Montreal Canadiens will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference final, NHL.com said. (sports.yahoo.com) The league’s schedule page lists the series opener for Thursday, May 21. Carolina has not lost in this postseason, CBS Sports reported, taking an 8-0 playoff record into the series with Montreal. (nhl.com) The Eastern Conference final now pairs that unbeaten run against a Canadiens team that advanced on another Newhook overtime finish. (cbssports.com) (nhl.com)