Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson collected an assist in Monday's 3-2 Game 7 defeat in overtime to the Montreal Canadiens. 13:19 into the second period, Samuelsson initially celebrated scoring a goal, but he had to settle for an assist when it was determined that the puck went into the Canadiens' net off a deflection by Jordan Greenway. Alex Newhook's overtime goal delivered a cruel end to the campaign for the Sabres, but Samuelsson should enter the offseason in high spirits. He had a breakout year in 2025-26, with 41 points (13 goals, 28 assists) in 78 games, proving he can be much more than a shutdown defenseman. Across his first five NHL campaigns, Samuelsson had managed only 43 points (seven goals, 36 assists).

Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin scored his fourth postseason goal in Monday's 3-2 Game 7 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. The Sabres captain tied the game at two with 6:27 played in the third period. Buffalo had all the momentum in the third frame, yet they couldn't find the game-winning goal and were burned in overtime by Alex Newhook. Dahlin had a career-high 74 points (19 goals, 55 assists) in 77 regular-season games and finished the playoffs strongly, putting together a five-game point streak. Overall, he notched 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 13 games during the postseason. At 26, Dahlin is still very young for a defenseman and is poised to remain a high-level fantasy performer for a long time.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes finished Monday's 3-2 Game 7 victory against the Buffalo Sabres with 37 saves. Dobes couldn't hold a 2-0 lead on the road, but the Canadiens advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to an overtime tally from Alex Newhook. Montreal's young netminder rebounded well from a poor Game 6 outing, in which Dobes was lit up for six goals. He has done a great job responding to defeats throughout the postseason and hasn't yet lost back-to-back starts. Dobes has an 8-6 record in the playoffs, allowing 2.52 goals with a .910 save percentage. The Canadiens enter the next series as huge underdogs, but they won all three regular-season games against the Hurricanes with Dobes in net.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson registered a power-play assist as the team won Game 7 against the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 in overtime on Monday night. Hutson had an assist in a sixth consecutive game when Zack Bolduc scored with the man advantage at the 14:29 mark in the first period. In the Conference Finals against Carolina, he has a chance to set a new franchise record for the longest postseason assist streak, currently held by Jacques Lemaire, who had an eight-game run in 1973. Hutson leads Montreal in scoring in the playoffs with 14 points in as many games. All but two of his points have come via assists.