Canadiens strike first in Game 7 with sneaky Phillip Danault goal

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There are no more exciting words for fans of professional sports than “Game 7,” and that’s exactly what the Montreal Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres are playing on Monday evening in KeyBank Centre in Buffalo.

The Canadiens are looking to bounce back after an embarrassing 8-3 loss to the Sabres on home ice on Saturday evening, and they got off to about as good a start as they could ask for in Game 7.

They got on the scoreboard first thanks to the first goal of the postseason from Phillip Danault, who redirected a centering pass from Kaiden Guhle past the outstretched pad of Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

While Lukkonen denied Canadiens sniper Cole Caufield with two tremendous saves from in tight in the slot, the Canadiens soon doubled their lead thanks to a power-play goal from Zach Bolduc. Waiting unwatched by the Sabres in the right face-off circle, he capitalized thanks to a perfect pass from Nick Suzuki in the corner, beating Lukkonen up high with a shot that went just under the crossbar.

While the Canadiens certainly gave themselves the advantage after the opening 20 minutes of play, there have been multiple examples in recent years of a team taking a multi-goal lead in a Game 7, only to see their opposition storm back for victory. Notable examples include the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks in 2019, as well as the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars last spring.

The winner will face the Carolina Hurricanes, who advanced nearly two weeks ago with a sweep over the Philadelphia Flyers, in the Eastern Conference Final; that series will begin on Thursday.

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