Lehkonen sends Canadiens to first final since 1993
The Montreal Canadiens are headed to the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1993 after Artturi Lehkonen scored at 1:39 of overtime to give Montreal a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night at the Bell Centre. The win gave Montreal a 4-2 edge in the best-of-seven semifinal series.
The Canadiens will face the winner of the other semifinal between the New York Islanders and the Tampa Bay Lightning. That series was tied 3-3 with Game 7 scheduled for Tampa on Friday night.
The goal brought an end to a goaltending duel between Carey Price and Robin Lehner. Vegas coach Peter Deboer called on Lehner to replace Marc-andré Fleury, who has struggled against Montreal in the playoffs. Lehner made 27 saves in the Golden Knights’ 2-1 victory in Game 4. Price made 37 saves, while Lehner had 29 Thursday night.
After Lehner stopped Cole Caufield on an attempt through the five hole in Game 4, the Vegas goaltender said the Golden Knights had a good scouting report on the rookie forward.
But the scouting report didn’t help Lehner in this game, as Caufield lifted the puck over the goaltender’s glove off the rush to give Montreal a 2-1 lead at 9:36 of the second period. Joel Edmundson hit Caufield with a stretch pass in the neutral zone and the rookie chipped the puck over Brayden Mcnabb’s stick and then chased the puck down. It was Caufield’s fourth playoff goal to go with five assists.