Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is expected to start Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens on Monday, Lance Lysowski of Buffalo News reports. The Sabres are returning to the Finnish netminder after Alex Lyon allowed three goals on three SOG to start Game 6. Lyon took over the crease after Luukkonen struggled in Game 5, giving up five goals through two periods with a .783 save percentage. He played a perfect game in Lyon's relief on Saturday, stopping 18 pucks. Luukkonen has been leaky throughout the playoffs, but given Lyon's performance over the weekend, there's really no other option for the Sabres on Monday night. In five postseason appearances, Luukkonen has a 3-2 record, a 3.36 goals-against average, and a .875 save percentage.

Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson sits among the top scorers in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs and can match a franchise record with another productive outing on Monday night in Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens. After erupting for four points in Game 6, Thompson boasts five multi-point games in the playoffs, one shy of tying Daniel Briere, Dale Hawerchuk, and Gilbert Perreault for Buffalo's record in a single postseason. Three of Thompson's multi-point performances have come in the last four games, during which he's racked up three goals and five assists. Across the entire postseason, Thompson has notched a team-high 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 12 games -- only Vegas' Mitchell Marner has more (18).

Montreal Canadiens center Nick Suzuki has been a true road warrior in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, finishing on the score sheet in all seven away outings so far. In Monday's Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres, he can join Mats Naslund as the second Canadiens player to start a postseason with an eight-game road point streak. In the 21st century, only five players in the entire league have recorded at least one point in each of their first eight road games of a playoff run. Bizarrely, Suzuki has gone scoreless in four of six home games. Yet he still ranks second on his team in the playoffs with 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 13 games.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson will enter Monday's Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres with a five-game assist streak. He's been a huge creative force for the Canadiens and could become only the sixth player in franchise history to record a six-game assist streak during the postseason. Larry Robinson was the last player to achieve it in 1978. In total, Hutson boasts 11 assists this postseason, tied for the second most behind Vegas superstar Jack Eichel (14). Montreal's prospects tend to rely heavily on Hutson, who leads the team with 13 points in 13 playoff outings. We should see him have a heavy workload on Monday night.