Special teams and goaltending will play key roles in the third round between Montreal and Carolina. Right now, the playoff numbers greatly differ from the regular season numbers in both regards.

The third round of the 2026 playoffs gets underway on Wednesday night with the Western Conference Final. Our writers make their picks on who between Colorado and Vegas will move on to battle for the Stanley Cup.

Topics in our latest podcast include Montreal’s Game 7 victory over Buffalo, the struggles for the front line, X-Factors for the Carolina series, and much more.

The Habs jumped out to a two-goal lead in Game 7 on Monday in Buffalo but couldn’t hold it as the game ultimately required overtime. In the extra frame, Alex Newhook was able to fire a long shot past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to send the Canadiens onto the Eastern Conference Final.

For the second straight series, the Habs failed to close things out on home ice and will have to win on the road to move on.  Here are seven keys to a Game Seven victory over the Sabres.

For the second straight series, the Habs haven’t made it easy on themselves. They lost twice at home but won on the road in Buffalo, forcing another Game 7 as they look to keep their season alive.

The Habs were able to jump out to a two-goal lead in the first period on Saturday night with a chance to clinch their series. However, Buffalo scored seven unanswered goals from there, forcing a Game Seven showdown on Monday with an 8-3 victory.

After a very eventful first period that had them trailing, the Habs bounced back in a big way on Thursday night in Buffalo. They scored three times in the second while Ivan Demidov picked up his first NHL playoff goal in the third to give Montreal the 6-3 win and a 3-2 series lead.

After a strong Game 3 showing, the Habs were back at home Tuesday to try to take a two-game lead on the Sabres. They grabbed the lead in the first period but weren’t able to hold on, falling 3-2.