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The Canadiens hold a 3-2 lead in the
best-of-seven semifinal series. Game 6 will be played Thursday
in Montreal.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Eric Staal and Cole Caufield also scored
goals and Tyler Toffoli added two assists for the Canadiens.
Montreal is looking for its first trip to the Stanley Cup Final
since 1993, when it defeated Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles
Kings in five games.
Max Pacioretty scored a goal and Marc-Andre Fleury finished with
22 saves for Vegas.
Montreal's tight checking held Vegas to just six first-period
shots, and the Canadiens grabbed a 1-0 lead on Kotkaniemi's
fifth goal of the playoffs at the 8:45 mark. Kotkaniemi set up
the score with a stretch pass to Josh Anderson, who broke past
Zach Whitecloud and fired a backhand shot on which Fleury made a
pad save. However, the puck bounced out to the right side of the
crease, where Kotkaniemi scooped it up and backhanded it into a
wide-open net.
Vegas had a chance to tie later in the period, but Mark Stone,
who entered the contest without a point in the past five games,
shot a point-blank shot wide of the net.
Fleury stopped Paul Byron on a breakaway early in the second
period but Staal made it 2-0 a couple minutes later with his
second goal of the playoffs. Suzuki set up the score with a
spinning cross-ice pass from the left wall to Staal, who had
just hopped on during a line change, in the high slot. Staal
then fired a wrist shot past Fleury's glove side at 6:32.
Montreal increased its lead to 3-0 midway through the period
with a power-play goal by Caufield. He took a crossing pass from
Corey Perry following a turnover by Stone and then one-timed a
shot from the slot past Fleury's glove side for his third goal
of the series.
Vegas cut the deficit to 3-1 at the 4:09 mark in the third
period on Pacioretty's fifth goal of the playoffs. Pacioretty
fanned on his first try from the edge of the right circle, but
his second attempt beat Price on his stick side.
The Golden Knights pulled Fleury for an extra attacker with 2:55
to go. Suzuki, taking a bank pass off the boards from Toffoli,
sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1:06 left.
--Field Level Media
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