TORONTO — Carey Price made 30 saves and the Montreal Canadiens advanced to the second round by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 in Game 7 on Monday night.

Brendan Gallagher, Corey Perry and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Canadiens, who stormed back from a 3-1 deficit for the third time in franchise history to win a series. Eric Staal had two assists for Montreal, which advanced to the second round for the first time since 2015.

The Canadiens will take on Winnipeg after the Jets swept Edmonton in the Canadian-based North Division’s other series. Game 1 is Wednesday at Winnipeg.

William Nylander had a late goal and Jack Campbell stopped 20 shots for Toronto, which hasn’t advanced in the postseason since 2004. The Maple Leafs appeared in control of this series while taking a 3-1 lead, but Montreal forced a deciding Game 7 by winning two in a row in overtime.

Montreal opened the scoring at 3:02 of the second on a sequence that started with a turnover by Mitch Marner at the offensive blue line. The Canadiens headed the other way and Gallagher scored his first goal since April 1 after missing six weeks with a broken thumb.

The Maple Leafs nearly tied it moments later when Price stopped Zach Hyman in tight before Auston Matthews ripped a shot off the post on a 2-on-1.

But the Canadiens went up by two at 15:25 when Nick Suzuki’s shot on a power play went off Perry in front for his second goal in as many games. It was Montreal’s third goal with the man advantage in two games after going 0 for 15 to start the series.

The Leafs, who finished 18 points ahead of the Canadiens in the regular season and haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967, got a power play to start the third. But Price denied Hyman on a redirect at the side of the goal.

NOTES

THE NHL AND health authorities are reportedly working on a travel exemption that would let the winner of the all-Canadian North Division and an American opponent cross the border during the final two rounds of the playoffs, including the Stanley Cup Final.

The exemption would let teams enter Canada for games without having to isolate for 14 days, as is currently required for non-essential travelers because of the pandemic, The Canadian Press reported, citing two people with the federal government who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The NHL has been working to secure approval from public health authorities in the provinces and cities that still have teams in the playoffs – Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal, the people told CP. Final approval rests with federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino. In an email to CP, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the effort was “a work in progress.”

The winner of Monday night’s Game 7 between Montreal and Toronto will play the Jets in the North Division final. The winner of that series will face one of three American division winners in the league semifinals. The two semifinal winners will square off for the Stanley Cup.

Cross-border travel in the NHL has been virtually non-existent since the pandemic hit North America last spring. Last summer, the NHL concluded its season with playoff hubs in Toronto and Edmonton, but all American teams crossed the border just once to open play.

For this season, the league put all seven Canadian teams in one division, and they exclusively played each other to avoid cross-border travel. The NHL had said it was considering having the division winner relocate to the U.S. for the final two rounds unless the government relents.

AVALANCHE: NHL commissioner Gary Bettman upheld an eight-game suspension issued Colorado forward Nazem Kadri following his illegal check to the head of Blues defenseman Justin Faulk in Game 2 of a first-round series against St. Louis.

Bettman heard Kadri’s appeal before announcing his decision Monday. The incident took place at 6:26 of the third period on May 19 in Game 2. Kadri was assessed a match penalty for the check to Faulk. Kadri missed the last two games of the Blues series – Colorado advanced with a four-game sweep – and Game 1 of the Avalanche’s second-round series versus Vegas on Sunday night.

If the suspension – the sixth of Kadri’s career – is not completed during the playoffs, any remaining games will be served at the beginning of next season. The 30-year-old Kadri was the only Avalanche player to suit up in all 56 regular-season games. He finished with 11 goals and 21 assists. He also led the team in faceoff wins.