Hockey fans in Alex Newhook’s home province have gathered in bars and set aside politics as their hometown hero has helped secure the Montreal Canadiens a spot in the Eastern Conference final.
In the Newfoundland Embassy, a pub on the bottom floor of a bright red building in St. John’s, the band hurried to the television between songs on Monday night to watch Game 7 between the Canadiens and the Buffalo Sabres.
Nobody minded about the band, said Embassy co-owner Niall Hickey. Everybody was there for Newhook-mania.
And Newhook certainly delivered — with an overtime goal 11:22 into overtime in the 3-2 win over the Sabres. It was his second series-clinching goal in Game 7 in the 2026 playoffs.
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“A lot of people in Newfoundland and Labrador are big Montreal fans, and to see their hometown boy, Alex Newhook, just absolutely killing it? It’s so exciting,” Hickey said in an interview.
Even a few Toronto Maple Leafs fans came in to cheer on Newhook, but they were reluctant to admit it, Hickey added.
© 2026 The Canadian Press