Canadiens outlast Golden Knights in Game 6 in overtime to return to first Stanley Cup Final since 1993

For the first time since 1993, the Montreal Canadiens are headed to the Stanley Cup Final. Artturi Lehkonen scored the game-winning goal to continue the Canadiens' Cinderella run in this unusual Stanley Cup playoff year. The team with 500-1 odds entering the postseason earned their trip to the final with a 3-2 overtime win against the Vegas Golden Knights to end the series in six games.

The last time Montreal made it to this stage of the tournament, in 1993, they last won a title led by legendary goaltender Patrick Roy, and are the first Canadian team to make the Final since Vancouver did it in 2011.

Team captain Shea Weber got the scoring started late in the first period on a power play goal. He took a shot from the top of the circle and just fired one past Robin Lehner. Reilly Smith was able to respond less than a minute later for the Golden Knights, tipping in a redirected shot from Shea Theodore to knot things up at one goal a piece.

The breakout star of the series, Cole Caufield, got the Habs their lead back. Caufield, who didn't start to begin the postseason and scored all four of his postseason goals in this series, tipped a stretch pass from Joel Edmundson and got a shot past Lehner. Alec Martinez tied the game again for the Golden Knights in the third period when his quick hands beat Carey Price to the puck. He slotted the shot through the five-hole to bring the score to 2-2.

For the third time in the series, a game went to overtime. While the Golden Knights looked dominant early on, the Canadiens were eventually able to go on a break after a face-off in their own end of the ice. Phillip Danault set up Lehkonen to be the hero for Montreal and ended things 3-2.

Beyond the incredible history made with this win, it's also worth noting that the Habs are doing this without their interim head coach Dominique Ducharme, who tested positive for coronavirus last week and has not been back on the bench since that diagnosis. He's fine and symptom-free in his home but the performance from the coaching side was assistant Luke Richardson.

Despite not having won the Stanley Cup in 28 years, Montreal is still the all-time franchise leader in Cups with 24. The Habs will go for their 25th Stanley Cup against either the New York Islanders or defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, pending the outcome of their Game 7 in Tampa.