Game 7 between the Habs and Knights went down to sudden death overtime. Montreal had a 2-1 lead but Alec Martinez evened it up about two minutes into the 3rd period. The Golden Knights were pushing for the rest of the game and Montreal just survived. That game went to overtime for the 3rd time in that series, each team had one win in OT. Before I get to the winner and goalscorer, let me show you how we got there.
In the 1st Period, Montreal had 2 power plays and scored in one of them. In the 2nd one, it was a giveaway by Martinez and he broke his stick on the play which led to Shea Weber hammering the puck through a screen past Robin Lehner for the 1st goal of the game. The lead didn’t last for long. 48 seconds later, Reilly Smith evened up the score with a great goal. He got a pass from Shea Theodore and deflected the puck to get the puck off the post and in. At the end of the 1st period, it was Vegas 1 and Montreal 1.
In the 2nd Period, Vegas had 2 power play opportunities but came up empty for the 15th time in that series. They were 0/15 on the power play which caused problems for them and gave the Habs momentum. Montreal took the advantage in this game about midway through the 2nd with a player who has flown in this series. Cole Caufield the rookie from Wisconsin took the puck from midway and scored top shelf on Robin Lehner. That was his 4th goal in the series and it must be exciting for him to make it to the Finals in his 1st year. The 2nd period ended with Montreal leading 2-1 and they were 20 minutes away from their 1st Stanley Cup appearance since 28 years ago in 1993.
But Vegas wasn’t done yet. Early into the 3rd, Pietrangelo shot on goal and the rebound was batted home by defenseman Alec Martinez who has scored another big goal in his career. Vegas still had plenty of time to grab another one but right now it was 2-2. It stayed that way for the rest of the period but Vegas was pushing and the Habs were on the brink of allowing a goal. Overtime would decide this game for the 3rd time in 6 games.
In the two previous overtime games, an early goal was scored by either team, this one was no exception. Vegas had the puck in the offensive zone and the shot bounced off the helmet of Price and the Habs went the other way. It was a quick transition and Brendan Gallagher passed to Philip Danault who made a magnificent pass to Artturi Lehkonen. He rocketed a one timer into the back of the net for the game winning, series winning, and semi final winning goal to send the Habs to the Final. It was quick movement by them and Lehner had no chance as Lehkonen elevated the puck past him. The unlikely and underdog story of the Montreal Canadiens is continuing as they are 4 wins away now from holding the prestigious Stanley Cup.
The Montreal Canadiens have surprised the whole hockey world. Can they do it again one last time to win the big silver trophy?
THE END