A trip to the Eastern Conference finals is on the line when the Montreal Canadiens battle the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 of their 2026 NHL playoff second-round matchup on Monday night.
The winner will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the conference finals. Montreal jumped out to a 2-1 series lead, but Buffalo has won two of the past three—including an 8-3 victory in Game 6—to send this series to the deciding Game 7.
Game 7 Details
Face-off: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
Betting Odds
The Sabres are the -118 favorite (risk $118 to win $100), while the over/under for total goals scored is 5.5.
Money Line: Sabres -118, Canadiens -102
Key Predictions
After 10,000 simulations of Canadiens vs. Sabres, the SportsLine Projection Model is going Over on the total (5.5). The Over has hit in four of the last six head-to-head matchups.
The Over has also hit in three of the last four Montreal games and in five of the last nine Buffalo games. The Sabres had the fifth-best scoring offense in the NHL during the regular season, averaging 3.42 goals per game.
Player Projections
Montreal:
- Cole Caufield: .56 goals and .46 assists
- Jakub Dobes: 23.3 saves, 3.22 goals allowed
Buffalo:
- Tage Thompson: .54 goals and .53 assists
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: 19.3 saves, 3.03 goals allowed
The model projects 6.5 combined goals between the teams, making the Over the play 61% of the time.