BUFFALO – Having cut his teeth as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, Sabres winger Alex Tuch has experienced the craziness that often accompanies Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The memories of his first one in 2019 are seared in his mind.
“Oh yeah,” Tuch replied Sunday when asked if he has any crazy recollections of the three he has played.
Then Tuch, whose Sabres host Game 7 of their second-round series on Monday against the Montreal Canadiens at what promises to be an electric KeyBank Center, smiled.
Seven years ago, a disputed penalty cost the Golden Knights in Game 7 of their first-round series against the San Jose Sharks.
After Cody Eakin earned a five-minute penalty for cross-checking Joe Pavelski in the third period, the Sharks scored four power-play goals and erased the Golden Knights’ 3-0 lead. They tied it with 47 seconds left in regulation before Pavelski scored in overtime.
What Tuch called “a pretty devastating” loss has stuck with him. Eakin’s penalty prompted the NHL to institute a rule so major penalties can be reviewed.
“That was a crazy game,” Tuch said in the 4 Seasons Hotel Montreal before the Sabres returned to Buffalo. “One I’ll never forget.”
Win or lose, everyone participating in tonight’s contest will likely never forget what transpires. After all, a trip to the Eastern Conference final – the Sabres haven’t made it to one since 2007 – is on the line.
Tuch said he plans to offer some wisdom to a group filled with neophytes.
Incredibly, when rookie defenseman Zach Metsa dressed for Saturday’s series-tying 8-3 victory in Montreal, he became the 16th member of the Sabres to play his first postseason game this year.
Still, Tuch doesn’t want to tell them much about his past experiences.
“I’ve said it a hundred times, you got to go out there and just play hockey,” he said. “I think we’re the better team.”
In roaring back from a 3-1 deficit in Game 6 and scoring seven straight goals as they faced elimination, the Sabres looked confident and loose.
“It’s when sometimes you have almost everything to lose, you kind of look at it like you have nothing to lose,”Tuch said. “It’s a little confusing, but you just go out there and you just kind of leave it all on the table.”
For many Sabres, Monday’s game will be the most important of their career. Only six Sabres – Tuch, forwards Jordan Greenway, Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker and defensemen Bowen Byram and Luke Schenn – have played in a Game 7.
Game 7s don’t come around often in these parts. In their 56-year history, the Sabres have played just seven and won one, when Derek Plante’s overtime goal clinched a first-round win over the Ottawa Senators on April 29, 1997.
Only two – 1997 and 2001, when the Sabres lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Dominik Hasek final outing – have taken place in Buffalo.
The Sabres played their last Game 7 on April 26, 2011, when they lost 5-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers.
“Everyone’s gonna have nerves,” said Tuch, who can become an unrestricted free agent following the season. “Everyone’s sitting in the same spot. If you’re not nervous, you’re not human. But it’s exciting. You’ll have fun with it. It’s the reason why we play the game of hockey. …
“So it’s the things you dream of. And to do it in the playoffs, and for me to do it at KeyBank Center is a dream come.”
Home ice, however, hasn’t been kind to the Sabres this postseason. They’re just 2-4 at KeyBank Center and 5-2 on the road.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens , who earlier this month won a seven-game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, are 2-4 at home and 5-2 on the road. They’ve won twice in Buffalo during the series.
“Don’t know exactly what it is,” coach Lindy Ruff said of the Sabres’ home struggles throughout the playoffs. “We have to feel like we don’t have to entertain, but we have to play at a lot of pace. And I think sometimes the home team, a little bit of entertaining and all of a sudden you give some pucks up.”
Ruff has often mentioned distractions at home during the postseason – there’s family coming to town and other things to deal with – so he planned to make the lead up Monday’s game feel more like a road contest.
The Sabres were expected to spend the night together as a team a hotel.
Ruff, like he did before Game 6, will also likely keep the Sabres off the ice for a day and a half – they did not practice on Sunday and aren’t expected to hold a pregame skate – so he can ease the pressure and help them focus.