Lehkonen strikes in OT to send Canadiens to 1st Stanley Cup final since 1993 | CBC Sports

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 skillful second period marker, but Vegas defenceman Alec Martinez levelled the score early in the final frame.

WATCH | Lehkonen’s OT marker sends Habs to Stanley Cup final:

Artturi Lehkonen’s first point of the series is the Game 6 clinching goal as the Habs head to the Stanley Cup final. 2:07

Shortly into the overtime period, Lehkonen scored off a slick feed from Phillip Danault.

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 29 shots.

Montreal will look to achieve the first Canadian victory in a Stanley Cup final since its own, 28 years ago, after Vancouver (1994, 2011), Calgary (2004), Edmonton (2006) and Ottawa (2007) fell short in their efforts.

Montreal improved to 5-1 in overtime games throughout these playoffs.

On Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day in Quebec, a raucous capacity home crowd of 3,500 at Montreal’s Bell Centre paled in comparison to the thousands of fans that celebrated on the streets surrounding the arena.

With similarities to the team’s memorable run in the spring of 1993 — an underdog not expected to challenge the big boys — Montreal is into its NHL-record 33rd final since 1917-18 and will be looking to add to its league-topping 24 Cup banners.

The Canadiens clinched a berth in the title series on home ice for the seventh time since the league expanded in 1966-67, and the first since defeating the Islanders in Game 5 at the Montreal Forum on May 24, 1993.

Montreal advanced to the Eastern Conference final in both 2010 and 2014, but lost out to the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers, respectively.

Fans gathered outside the Bell Centre in the hours before puck drop on a sun-soaked Montreal holiday evening, with many wearing Canadiens jerseys, waving the province’s fleur-de-lis flag — or both.

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.