Canadiens Best Lightning 2–1 in Game 7, Advance to Round 2 With Sabres on Wednesday

On Sunday, the Colorado Avalanche scored as many goals against the Minnesota Wild as the Montreal Canadiens had shots-on-goal against Tampa Bay Lightning.

Mattias Samuelsson #23 and Tage Thompson #72 of the Buffalo Sabres celebrate after defeating the Boston Bruins 4-1 in Game 6 of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden in Boston, Mass., on May 1, 2026. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The 50-plus-year rivalry of the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens continues in Buffalo on Wednesday.

It’s only fitting that these two teams are meeting in Round 2 of the NHL’s Stanley Cup postseason. Both are situated in the Eastern Conference’s Atlantic Division. When the regular season came to a close last month, it was Buffalo finishing in first place with 109 points. The bigger picture for hockey in Western New York is the Sabres returning to a postseason place after 14 years of not qualifying. Montreal pulled up in third position in the Atlantic with 106 points. After being bounced in Round 1 in 2025 by the Washington Capitals, and missing out on postseason participation the previous three seasons, grinding out an opening round series in Tampa Bay, Florida, on Sunday made for a sweet flight home to Quebec.