Two former members of the Vancouver Canucks have officially been eliminated after the Montréal Canadiens won Game 7 of their second-round series against the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 3–2 in overtime. With ex-Canucks Tanner Pearson and Luke Schenn eliminated by the Canadiens, Jalen Chatfield of the Carolina Hurricanes and Nic Dowd and Ben Hutton of the Vegas Golden Knights are now the only former Canucks who currently remain in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Buffalo and Montréal made their second-round series an exciting one, being the only duo in the bracket to play in seven games — the Colorado Avalanche and Golden Knights advanced in five and six games respectively, while the Hurricanes completed their second sweep of the post-season. There was never a point in their series in which Buffalo or Montréal led by more than a game.
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The Canadiens made things close in Game 6, looking as though they would eliminate the Sabres after putting three goals past Buffalo goaltender Alex Lyon during the first period. However, the Sabres roared back to win by a score of 8–3, forcing the series back to Buffalo. Montréal took a quick 2–0 lead in the first period of Game 7, though Buffalo stormed back to tie things at two apiece. During overtime, however, it was Canadiens forward Alex Newhook who beat Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to win the series for his team.
The only former Canuck to take part in this series was Luke Schenn, who the Sabres acquired at the trade deadline alongside fellow defenceman Logan Stanley. Schenn, who has now taken part in eight different post-season and won two Stanley Cups, skated in two games for Buffalo against Montréal. Throughout this span, he averaged 7:33 minutes played per game.
While Schenn was the only former Canuck to actually play in this series, he’s not the only one listed to Buffalo’s roster. Tanner Pearson, who spent nearly five seasons with the Canucks, was also acquired by the Sabres at this year’s trade deadline. Though he did skate in four regular-season games with Buffalo, he didn’t end up making his playoff debut for the Sabres.
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With their series win, the Canadiens will now face a high-powered Hurricanes team that has swept both of their past two opponents — the Ottawa Senators in the first-round, and the Philadelphia Flyers in the second. Carolina, despite often impressing in the first two rounds of the post-season, has not made it past the Eastern Conference Final since winning the Stanley Cup back in 2006.
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