The Buffalo Sabres will host the Montreal Canadiens tonight in a do or die Game 7 that will complete the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Montreal had a chance to win the series on home ice in Game 6 on Saturday, but the Sabres staved off elimination, riddling Jakub Dobes with goals in an 8-3 rout. Buffalo will be looking to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2007. The Canadiens made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021 before losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. Both teams are 2-1 on the road in the series, so anything can happen. The winner gets the extremely well-rested Carolina Hurricanes.
BUFFALO SABRES vs MONTREAL CANADIENS
- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. ET
- WHERE: KeyBank Center – Buffalo, NY
- SERIES: Tied 3-3
- ON THE TUBE: ESPN
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Sabres: Luukkonen (3-2 .875 / 3.36 0SO) Canadiens: Dobes (7-6 .906 / 2.59 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Buffalo / Montreal
2026 IIHF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
Florida Panthers prospect Sandis Vilmanis logged a team-high 21:51 of ice time in Latvia’s 2-0 victory over Germany at Swiss Life Arena in Zurich, Switzerland on Sunday. The 22-year-old, who played 19 NHL games this season, failed to register a shot on goal and finished with an even rating. Latvia now sports a 1-1 record and will play Austria on Tuesday.
Aleksander Barkov and Anton Lundell will be in action today when Finland takes on the United States. Marek Alscher should see third pairing duty in Czechia’s match with Sweden.
Today’s games
- Group A: Finland vs. United States (Zurich) 10:20 a.m. (NHL Network)
- Group B: Canada vs. Denmark (Fribourg) 10:20 a.m. (NHL Network YouTube)
- Group A: Germany vs. Switzerland (Zurich) 2:20 p.m. (NHL Network YouTube)
- Group B: Sweden vs. Czechia (Fribourg) 2:20 p.m. (NHL Network)
Sunday’s games
- Group A: United States 5, Great Britain 1
- Group B: Slovakia 4, Italy 1
- Group A: Austria 4, Hungary 2
- Group B: Sweden 6, Denmark 2
- Group A: Latvia 2, Germany 0
- Group B: Norway 4, Slovenia 0