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Golden Knights @ Canadiens: A Ticket to the Stanley Cup Final | HABS GAME 6 RECAP

Montreal Canadiens vs Vegas Golden Knights Recap: Habs Line-up, Score, Statistics, Highlights, Post-game Interviews, NHL Three-Stars

FINAL/OT | Round 3, Game 6 | Thursday June 24, 2021

Canadiens win series 4-2

Bell Centre, Montreal, QC

CANADIENS

Montreal

3-2

GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Vegas

(Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Canadiens Lineup

Forward lines

Tyler Toffoli – Nick Suzuki – Cole Caufield

Artturi Lehkonen – Phillip Danault – Brendan Gallagher

Paul Byron – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Josh Anderson

Joel Armia – Eric Staal – Corey Perry

Defence pairings

Ben Chiarot – Shea Weber

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Erik Gustafsson – Jon Merrill

Goaltenders

Carey Price – Jake Allen

Scratches

Tomas Tatar, Michael Frolik, Charlie Lindgren, Brett Kulak, Alexander Romanov

Black Aces

Alex Belzile, Laurent Dauphin, Lukas Vejdemo, Jesse Ylonen, Cale Fleury, Otto Leskinen, Xavier Ouellet, Cayden Primeau, Michael McNiven

Injuries

Jonathan Drouin (undisclosed), Jake Evans (concussion)

COVID protocol

Dominique Ducharme

Game Report

The Montreal Canadiens have earned a place in the Stanley Cup final for the 33rd time (since 1917-18) in franchise history, and for the first time in 28 years. For many Canadiens fans this will be their first experience watching their team compete for the Cup.

To advance, the Canadiens defeated the team who tied for the most points in the league in the regular season. Winning the series in six games earned the Canadiens their very first Clarence Campbell Bowl. Captain Shea Weber was beaming when congratulated by NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly but Weber elected not to touch the trophy.

The mission is not yet complete.

The final win of the series wasn’t easy against a committed and desperate Golden Knights team. Vegas dominated possession for three periods plus overtime. Scoring chances were lopsided as well, recorded as 28-15 for the Golden Knights.

But as he has done throughout the playoffs, Carey Price calmly erased the mistakes of his teammates. And as he made one spectacular save after another, frustration began to build for the visitors. Price made game-saving stops on William Karlsson and Max Pacioretty. 

To get to the final, the Canadiens have defied overwhelming odds. But Price has had a way of single-handedly upending the prediction models during this playoff run. The more talented lineup (on paper) outshot the Habs in every game of this series but one, but with their goaltender giving them a chance, the Canadiens stuck together and found ways to win.

Lehkonen is clutch

Tonight the overtime hero was a player who has played a key role in shutting down the opposition both at even strength and while on the penalty-kill. Artturi Lehkonen ended the game and the series just 99 seconds into the extra frame. Lehkonen is familiar with scoring game-winners, but there has been none bigger than his shot that beat Robin Lehner tonight.

It was the Canadiens captain who got the ball rolling in the first period. Shea Weber, still dealing with a thumb injury, blasted a rocket past Lehner to open the scoring.

Cole Caufield also got one by Lehner for the Canadiens second goal. Apparently Caufield’s wrister, high glove side was somewhat less predictable for the Golden Knights netminder. Caufield has gone from NCAA hockey, a world junior tournament, a Hobey Baker award, the AHL and now the Stanley Cup final.

Lehner took some time in the handshake line to offer some kind words to Price. The Canadiens goaltender will never reveal what was said but it wouldn’t surprise if it was something along the lines of ‘Finish what you started.’

In the post-game player availability, Lehner said “Hell of a team. Works really hard. Sticks with their structure, and they have a lot of great players. Everyone underestimates them.”

But now, the Montreal Canadiens are Stanley Cup finalists. In the words of Eric Staal, they have their ticket to the dance. Underestimate them no longer.

Up Next

The Canadiens will have the day off on Friday and will then begin preparing for their Stanley Cup final which will begin on the road on Monday night. 

Plus

▲  Carey Price, Artturi Lehkonen, Shea Weber, Cole Caufield, Brendan Gallagher, Paul Byron, Luke Richardson

Minus

▼  Tyler Toffoli, Jon Merrill, Erik Gustafsson

Game Preview

Check out the game preview here: Golden Knights @ Canadiens: The Toughest Test | HABS GAME 6 PREVIEW

The Numbers

Game Statistics
CANADIENS   GOLDEN KNIGHTS
32 Shots 39
47 Face-off % 53
1-for-3 Power Play 0-for-2
4 Penalty Minutes 6
29 Hits 31
39 Corsi For 59
Scoring Summary
FINAL 1 2 3 OT SO T
Canadiens (12-5) 1 1 0 1 3
Golden Knights (10-9) 1 0 1 0 2
Scorers Goalies
  • MTL: Weber (1)-PPG, Caufield (4), Lehkonen (3)
  • VGK: Smith (3), Martinez (4)
  • MTL: Price (W) 12-5 | Sv% .949
  • VGK: Lehner (L) 1-2 | Sv% .906

Stars of the Game

Official NHL Three Stars
  1. Artturi Lehkonen  MTL
  2. Carey Price  MTL
  3. Alex Pietrangelo  VGK

Watch

Video Highlights

What Did They Say?

Post-game Quotes

Luke Richardson

  • “It’s really heartwarming to see a group of guys that work that hard together. I know every team says the same thing, but these guys are a special group and a really good mix. It’s hard to put into words how proud we are of them, but they deserve it, and they’re not done yet. They still have fire in their eyes. They’re already talking about it. We are shifting our focus right away. We’ll step away, take some rest, come back on Saturday and do a little work, and get right back at it on Sunday. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Carey Price

  • “I’m excited for those people that were lucky enough to be in the building. Everybody in the city is ecstatic. It’s a fun time to be in Montreal right now.”

Shea Weber

  • “I’m excited, just like I was excited to play every game in this playoff so far. Whether you’re 20 or 35, it’s an exciting time. To still be playing hockey into July, it’s probably the longest time anyone has played, minus the bubble last year. We’re happy to still be playing, and we’re excited going forward.”

Cole Caufield

  • “It means everything to me, but it means everything to the team. These guys have been playing for a while. This opportunity doesn’t come around very often. Playing for these older guys and the guys that have been here for a while is probably the biggest thing right now. I’m just trying to take it all in and enjoy the moment. It’s for the older guys and the guys that have been here for a while.”

Quotes courtesy of NHL.com

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