The Sabres are going to look back on their series loss to the Canadiens and wonder how they got so close after some of their issues.

They were the story of the city, and really of the entire surrounding region. And this was a tale that will be about so much more than how it ended. No one with Western New York in their blood wanted to see that Alex Newhook goal find the back of the net late Monday night to end the Sabres' storybook season.

Montreal will face the Carolina Hurricanes, who are the No. 1 seed from the Metropolitan Division, in the Eastern Conference Final. Game 1 of that best-of-7 series will be in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, HBO Max, truTV, SN, CBC, TVAS).

The Sabres forced a Game 7 with an 8-3 drubbing of the Canadiens on Sunday night in Montreal. Their reward, in all likelihood, is another night in a hotel. Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images The Athletic has live coverage of Canadiens vs. Sabres in Game 7 ...

The Buffalo Sabres engineered one last comeback to force overtime, but their season came to an end with a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of their second-round playof

Rasmus Dahlin scored 6:27 into the third period to tie the game at 2-2, and the Buffalo Sabres overcame a two-goal deficit to force overtime against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of their second-round playoff series on Monday night.

A winner-take-all Game 7 of this series is taking place on May 18, with the winner advancing and taking on the Carolina Hurricanes in the East Final. If the Sabres are going to emerge victorious on Monday night,