The Montreal Canadiens are headed back to the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1993 — the last time the franchise lifted hockey’s holy grail.
It was the third game of the series that required overtime.
After Canadiens defenceman and captain Shea Weber opened the scoring with an unassisted power-play goal in the first period, Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith would equalize less than a minute later.
Montreal’s rookie forward Cole Caufield broke the deadlock with a skilful second period marker, but Vegas defenceman Alec Martinez levelled the score early in the final frame.
Canadiens forward Artturi Lehkonen scored the game-winning goal 1:39 into overtime to send Montreal to the Cup final.
Canadiens goaltender Carey Price continued his immense playoff form, making 37 saves in the win. Vegas turned back to Game 4 hero Robin Lehner, who stopped 30 shots.
A raucous capacity home crowd of 3,500 at Montreal’s Bell Centre paled in comparison to the large gathering of fans that surrounded the outside of the arena during the game.
Montreal will learn its Stanley Cup final opponent when the Tampa Bay Lightning host the New York Islanders in Game 7 of their semifinal series on Friday. The game will be streamed live on CBCSports.ca at 8 p.m. ET.
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