Canadiens look to ‘bounce forward’ as series against Sabres heads to Game 7

LONGUEUIL — Montreal Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis has a consistent message for his players after losses — don’t bounce back, bounce forward.

“I just feel bounce back, you come back to where you were. Bounce forward, you’re actually further,” St. Louis explained following Saturday’s 8-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 6. “Physics.”

Heading into Game 7 in Buffalo, N.Y., the Canadiens have the chance to apply that lesson in their biggest game of the season.

Montreal blew an opportunity to close out the second-round playoff series at home — squandering a 3-1 first-period lead as the Sabres rattled off seven unanswered goals in a shocking turnaround — but can still advance to the NHL’s Eastern Conference final with a win at KeyBank Center on Monday.

With an average age of 25.8, Montreal could become the youngest team in 33 years to advance to the third round.

“The obstacles in life come at different times, and for us right now, it just came in the last 24 hours and (we) got to find a way to bounce forward,” St. Louis said Sunday at Montreal Metropolitan Airport before the Canadiens took flight to Western New York.

“You have to be strong mentally, you have to have a short memory on that side, you need to understand why we didn’t have a good game and you have to move forward.”

The Canadiens have shown that ability throughout the past two months. Montreal has yet to lose consecutive games this post-season, and hasn’t dropped two straight contests since mid-March.

“We can for sure lean on (that),” captain Nick Suzuki said post-game. “We’re a team that is really resilient. We’ve been in this situation already in the first round, so we have experience, and we just got to win one game.”

Phillip Danault said the pain from Montreal’s Game 6 collapse, a wild game that saw both teams switch goalies, still lingered when he woke up Sunday.

But the veteran centre’s focus quickly shifted to matching the Sabres’ desperation in Game 7.

“Every loss is hard to sleep on,” he said. “This morning you wake up and that one stings a little bit more, but sometimes it’s good.”

“It has to be our best game by far of the two series combined,” he added. “It’s our turn to be desperate.”

Playing Game 7 on the road may actually work in Montreal’s favour in this series, especially after Suzuki admitted that players were overcomplicating things to impress the home crowd.

The Canadiens have a 5-2 record on the road this post-season, compared to 2-4 at the Bell Centre. The Sabres, meanwhile, are 5-1 as visitors and 2-4 in Buffalo.

Asked about the apparent home-ice disadvantage after Game 6, coach Lindy Ruff joked the Sabres were “in the process of seeing if we can play (in Montreal) on Monday.”

Ruff later said the Sabres would change their routine in Buffalo. One possibility? Staying at a hotel rather than returning home, to make the situation feel like a road game. He added it’s unlikely his team would skate between games — a winning formula in Game 6.

“You go into Game 7 — just like I said for Game 6 — elimination game, there’s a lot of pressure. They feel it,” Ruff said. “I’m gonna say 90 per cent chance you won’t see us at the rink for the next day and a half, until game time.”

St. Louis, meanwhile, wouldn’t play into the narrative that heading on the road is a bonus, even though the Canadiens posted the second-best away record this season.

“I don’t know if it’s an advantage or a disadvantage,” he said. “I just think we’re a good team. Our home record in the playoffs hasn’t been as good, but I think we’ve been a good team this year at home and on the road.”

The Canadiens have already pulled out a Game 7 victory on the road once these playoffs, stealing a 2-1 decision over the Tampa Bay Lightning two weeks ago despite totalling just nine shots — a league record for fewest in a post-season win.

As much as they can lean on that experience Monday, the Canadiens know they’ll need a better effort to knock out the Sabres.

“You can’t win every Game 7 like that. We need a better start, a good 60 minutes as a team,” Danault said. “If you play badly and you have nine shots, you’re not going to win. So you have to bring your best game — and more than nine shots.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press