OT victory in Game 6 sends Habs to Stanley Cup Final
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[June 25, 2021]
The Montreal Canadiens have
authored a trio of upsets already in the Stanley Cup playoffs, but
don't for a second believe they are content to bask in that
achievement.
After clinching their semifinal series over the visiting Vegas
Golden Knights with a 3-2 overtime victory on Thursday in Game 6,
the Canadiens -- who posted the lowest point total among the 16
squads that reached the playoffs -- know their job is not complete.
"We've been believing this whole time," Montreal goaltender Carey
Price said. "Obviously, we're ecstatic and we have a lot of work to
do.
"It's been a big progression. That first round (against the Toronto
Maple Leafs), we started to click when we got down, but after we won
that first game, we felt like we were playing solid hockey, and like
any playoff story, it's a progression, luck and hard work."
Montreal, the first Canadian team to reach the Stanley Cup Final
since the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, will face the winner of the
Tampa Bay Lightning-New York Islanders series, which will be decided
in Game 7 on Friday.
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Either the Lightning or Islanders will host the first two games of
the final series, which will begin on Monday.
As will be the case in all three of their previous series, the
Canadiens -- who have been without head coach Dominique Ducharme on
their bench after he tested positive for COVID-19 last week -- will
be the underdogs. However, they've earned their right to battle for
the franchise's first championship since 1993 -- which also happens
to be the last time they made it to the finals.
They punched their ticket when Artturi Lehkonen scored his first
goal of the series 99 seconds into the extra period and clinched the
best-of-seven series.
"I'm not going to lie. It's a pretty good feeling," Lehkonen told
Sportsnet after he netted his first career overtime playoff goal.
"It's a big win for us, and we've got four more to go."
Shea Weber and Cole Caufield also scored in the win, while Price
made 37 saves for Montreal, which has a 5-1 record in overtime games
this postseason.
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![](../images/062521pics/sports11.jpg)
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Robin
Lehner (90) makes a save against Montreal Canadiens left wing
Artturi Lehkonen (62) as defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (7) defends
during the second period in game six of the 2021 Stanley Cup
Semifinals at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA
TODAY Sports
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Reilly Smith and Alec Martinez replied
for the Golden Knights, who finished tied atop the league standings
in the regular season. Robin Lehner stopped 29 shots in the loss.
The Golden Knights, who reached the 2018 finals in their first year
of existence, have been eliminated in the semifinals each of the
past two seasons.
"It's a pretty empty feeling right now," Lehner said. "Any time you
lose in the playoffs and your season is over, it's pretty hard to
take in.
"We're a hard-working group. I'm proud of everyone in there. We're
right there knocking on the door. ... It sucks that we couldn't get
over the hump."
Price and Montreal's commitment to team defense were huge factors in
quashing those hopes.
While the Canadiens enjoyed offensive success by counterattacking,
the Golden Knights couldn't get on track offensively. The Vegas
power play was blanked in the series, and most of the Golden
Knights' star forwards were unable to convert the few chances they
generated.
"It's a pretty terrible feeling," said Vegas' Mark Stone, who was
second on the team in goal-scoring in the regular season but was
blanked by the Canadiens. "I got skunked this series. That can't
happen. I'm the captain of this team, the leader of this team. I
take a lot of responsibility for what occurred."
--Field Level Media
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