NHL Playoffs Live Blog: Canadiens And Sabres Play Do-Or-Die Game 7

It all comes down to Game 7 for the Buffalo Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens.

The winner of tonight's do-or-die fixture will move on to challenge the Carolina Hurricanes, a dominant regular-season team that has been on fire in the playoffs.

The Sabres and Canadiens have gone back and forth throughout the series. There's been minimal home ice advantage in this series, as each team has only won one game on home ice. If the Sabres hope to move on to the Eastern Conference finals, they'll have to flip the script.

The Sabres and the Canadiens have each defied expectations. The Sabres, at one point in the season, sat in last place in the Atlantic Division, but a systematic change unlocked the potential of the Sabres' roster.

As for the Habs, although they made the playoffs last season, many of their stars are very young, and their upset win over an experienced Tampa Bay Lightning squad came as a surprise to many.

Follow along with us as we break down and react to what's happening in Monday's Game 7.

Also, be sure to stay tuned to The Hockey News' YouTube and social media channels. After the matchup, we're going live with Michael Traikos, Michael Augello, and Andrew McInnis to react to the game and series that were.

Let's get to it. Refresh this page for new updates.

7:20 P.M. ET - Pregame Notes

Hi, folks. Adam Proteau here. I'll be your guide through tonight's big game between the Canadiens and Sabres. How are people feeling? Who do you like to win, and why? Make your voice heard in the comments section.

(As for me, I'm sticking with my hunch prediction of the Habs to win this series. I'm looking for big things from Nick Suzuki tonight, and although I believe Montreal is going to win, I also think they're going to run into a wall in the form of the Carolina Hurricanes. But that's why they play the games, right? Teams overachieve and underachieve all the time. But I feel like the Habs will have just a little bit more offense than the roller-coaster Sabres will have. Let's see how it goes.)

The Hockey News

This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 7:20 PM.