Alex Newhook is the Canadiens' hero no one ever expected
There's never been any way to suggest that he had this in him.
Alex Newhook is the Canadiens' hero no one ever expected originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . Before this month, Alex Newhook was far from a household name, even in Montreal, where the Canadiens are king.
He's been a solid depth center in a six-year NHL career, the kind of player who makes a solid living and can be happy with what he's done, but not the kind who lives on as a legend. Then May of 2026 arrived, and Newhook became a legend. His name will never be forgotten in the province of Quebec.
The magic started in Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning , when Newhook scored his first goal of the playoffs with nine minutes left in regulation, and it held up as the winner. And after a brilliant series against the Buffalo Sabres , Newhook did it in Game 7 again, this time midway through overtime, beating Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and setting off celebrations throughout French Canada. BACK TO BACK GAME GAME 7 WINNERS FOR ALEX NEWHOOK!!
pic. twitter. com/0HchNXH0Gh ā Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) May 19, 2026 Newhook becomes just the second player ever to have multiple Game 7 game-winning goals in one postseason, joining the Bruins' Nathan Horton in 2011, when they won the Stanley Cup, according to the ESPN broadcast.