In the end, the Sabres came up a goal short of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. The Canadiens ended the Sabres’ special season by defeating them 3-2 on Alex Newhook’s overtime winner in Game 7 at KeyBank Center.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Sabres, who lost for the third time in four home games in a superb series between old rivals. When it came down to it, logic didn’t apply to the exciting second round matchup. There was no such thing as momentum. Had that been true, the Canadiens finish off the Sabres in Game 6 at Bell Centre. Instead, Buffalo rallied from a 3-1 deficit to stun Montreal by scoring seven unanswered goals in an 8-3 victory to stave off elimination.

Back on home ice for the deciding game last night, they fell behind 2-0 in the first period. The Canadiens got goals from Phillip Danault and Zach Bolduc to take a two-goal lead to the locker room. However, much like most of the games in the series, it was far from over.

With the Habs sitting back, the Sabres took over with a dominant second period. They controlled large portions due to their relentless forecheck. As shots piled up, they stormed Jakub Dobes’ net in search of a goal. Eventually, the formula paid dividends thanks to Beck Malenstyn having his pass take a favorable bounce right to Mattias Samuelsson for a shot that deflected off Jordan Greenway that cut the deficit to 2-1.

The fourth line delivered a crucial offensive shift that got them back in it. In fact, the consistent work they put in made them very effective throughout Game 7. More often than not, Greenway, Malenstyn, and Peyton Krebs spent time in the Montreal zone. In fact, Greenway came very close to being the hero in overtime. Unfortunately, ref Wes McCauley blew the whistle as Greenway jammed in a loose puck underneath Dobes. Had he not thought the Habs goalie had it covered, it’s a different story for the Sabres.

Following Greenway’s tally that pulled them within one, the Sabres continued to apply heavy pressure on the Canadiens. But Dobes was able to prevent them from tying it before the second period concluded. Buffalo outshot Montreal 14-7 and more than doubled them up in attempts. The fans let them know about it with plenty of cheers for their effort as they went to the locker room.

In the third period, it was a scrappy bunch of Sabres who continued to carry the play. Even with the Canadiens doing a solid job defending in front of Dobes, they were unable to prevent the home team from tying it.

Fittingly, the game-tying goal from captain Rasmus Dahlin. The Sabres’ best player, Dahlin pinched in and had his one-timer beat Dobes top shelf to send the crowd into a frenzy. On a well designed faceoff play that Ryan McLeod won back to Owen Power, the 2021 first overall pick connected with the 2018 first overall pick on a pretty goal.

Coming off a monumental five-point performance in Game 6, Dahlin delivered the biggest goal of the season. It was his 10th point of the series. Playing in his first postseason, the 26-year-old defenseman was sensational. In 13 games, he finished with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points while averaging a team-high 23:58. His brilliant play is why he’s one of three players up for the Norris, which is awarded to the NHL’s best defenseman.

After they drew even, the Sabres continued to dictate the terms. They outshot the Canadiens 10-4. Outside of a couple of dangerous chances in transition, which included Mike Matheson hitting the crossbar prior to Dahlin’s equalizer, the Habs could hardly establish any kind of attack in the Buffalo zone. They relied mostly on Dobes, who continued to make big saves like he had in an even more lopsided deciding game against the Lightning in the first round. In that 2-1 win on May 1, they only mustered nine shots, setting an NHL record for the fewest in Game 7 and still advancing.

Despite some close calls late in regulation from both sides, the game went to sudden death. Unlike the second and third periods, the Canadiens were looser. They spent more time in the Buffalo end. Juraj Slafkovsky had his shot hit the crossbar. It was the third goalpost of the game for the Habs.

Dobes got across to deny Zach Benson. The 2023 first round pick was a pest in the series. Benson was all over the ice during the series for the Sabres. He was moved onto a line with Tage Thompson and Josh Norris. Benson had six points in the second round with 36 penalty minutes. The 21-year-old forward just wrapped up his third season. He probably reminded winning Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis of himself. Benson has a bright future in Western New York.

With the shots favoring the Sabres 6-2 in the first overtime, the Canadiens iced the puck. They got a big break due to the mandatory ice cleaning at the halfway point. Having also gotten lucky due to McCauley’s intent to blow the whistle which negated Greenway’s potential series winner, the stoppage allowed the five Habs to rest before the key defensive draw. Following a critical Dobes save on Thompson, he froze the puck to allow all five to change.

After Norris won the faceoff back to Dahlin, he miscalculated by making a key mistake inside the blue line. He forced a pass across for a covered Thompson. Put in a tough spot, Thompson was forced into a turnover by Alex Carrier. That allowed Carrier to outlet for an attacking Newhook. With Dahlin unable to stop Newhook from gaining entry, that allowed Newhook enough time to beat Ukko-Pekka Luuukonen at 11:22. The replay showed that Dahlin was used as a flash screen by Newhook on the goal that sent the Canadiens off the bench to celebrate.

It was a gut-wrenching scene. A dejected Luukonen threw his helmet before returning to the ice for the traditional handshake between both sides. It was a hard fought series between two of the league’s emerging teams. In fact, they were the two youngest rosters remaining.

Unfortunately, it’ll be the Canadiens moving on to play the heavily favored Hurricanes. Carolina swept through the first two rounds without breaking a sweat. They’re expected to finally reach the Stanley Cup Finals. We’ll see if the upstart Habs have other ideas.

Despite the heartbreaking defeat, the Sabres heard familiar, “Let’s Go Buffalo!” chants from appreciative fans who won’t soon forget what this season meant.

They’d gone 14 years without the playoffs. The way this team turned around a bad start under head coach Lindy Ruff was special. They went from looking like an NHL doormat to winning the Atlantic Division with 109 points. Only three teams had better records.

“I told the team it hurts. But I won’t let this one game define the season we had,” Ruff said.

“I told the players how proud I was of them. The battle we took into game six in Montreal, and then came back here and gave ourselves every chance to win, so. This one game doesn’t define our season for us.”

It’s a team Buffalo fans can be proud of. Pride was restored.

It isn’t easy to break a long streak and have success in the playoffs. Despite the obvious flaws in net and defensively, these Sabres played with so much heart and resiliency. They showed a lot of character. Sabrehood will be back.