Blog: Golden Knights’ season ends in OT of Game 6 against Canadiens

By Justin Emerson

Published Thursday, June 24, 2021 | 3 p.m.

Updated Thursday, June 24, 2021 | 7:48 p.m.

The Golden Knights season came to a stunning end Thursday night in Montreal.

Vegas got its third-period goal to tie the game. Vegas came out hot in overtime. Vegas looked like it was rolling.

Instead, Artturi Lehkonen will go down as a hero for the Canadiens, scoring 1:39 into overtime to lift Montreal to a 3-2 victory in Game 6 at Bell Centre and send the Golden Knights home for the offseason.

Vegas never led in the game but battled back when it fell behind. The Canadiens scored first, 14:06 into the first on a power-play goal from Shea Weber, but Reilly Smith redirected a Shea Theodore shot 48 seconds later. When Cole Caufield put Montreal back up in the second, Alec Martinez scored early in the third to give the Golden Knights life.

Overtime belonged to the visitors early, with a couple of chances including a golden one from former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty. But when Montreal got going on the rush, Lehkonen finished with assists from Phillip Danault and Brendan Gallagher.

The Golden Knights fell in the semifinal round for the second year in a row. Against the Canadiens, they finished 0-for-15 on the power play and captain Mark Stone, who led the team in points in the regular season, did not register a point.

Check back to lasvegassun.com later for more coverage and read below for live updates from the game.

Golden Knights, Canadiens going to overtime in Game 6

For the third time in three games this series in Montreal, the Golden Knights and Montreal Canadiens are going to overtime.

Vegas entered the third period trailing by a goal, but Alec Martinez scored early in the frame to tie things up. It stayed that way the rest of the period, and Game 6 will need at least one more period, tied 2-2 after three at Bell Centre.

The Golden Knights needed someone to step up, and the defensive pair of Martinez and Alex Pietrangelo obliged 68 seconds into the third period. Pietrangelo had the initial shot that was batted down in the front, but Martinez pinching in was lost in chaos and swatted the puck into the net to tie the game.

It forced the majority of the third to be played with an even score, and it already felt like overtime. Each mistake was magnified — including two dangerous defensive-zone turnovers by Shea Theodore — but Robin Lehner had his best period of the night in goal, including getting just enough of a Tyler Toffoli attempt with 7:12 to go.

Vegas led in shots through regulation 37-21.

Golden Knights trail Canadiens after two periods in elimination Game 6

The Golden Knights have 20 minutes to keep their season alive.

Vegas surrendered a goal in the second period to fall behind the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 at Bell Centre in Montreal on Thursday. Trailing 3-2 in the series, a loss would eliminate Vegas from the playoffs.

Cole Caufield continues to be a menace for the Golden Knights this series. He won the Hobey Baker as college hockey's best player, then signed with the Canadiens with the hope he'd make an impact in the playoffs. He did it all on Montreal's second goal, blowing by Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb with his speed, then finishing high-glove on Robin Lehner with what is becoming one of the league's best shots. It gave Montreal the lead back, 2-1 at 9:36.

It was Caufield's fourth goal of the series, giving him one fewer than all Vegas forwards.

Unless something happens in the third period, the story of this series will be failures of the power play. The Golden Knights had one in the first, one in the second and scored on neither, dropping to 0-for-15 in the series.

The Golden Knights led in shots on goal 22-21 through two periods.

Golden Knights answer Canadiens goal to end first period tied

The Golden Knights gave up an early game and instead of "self-imploding" as coach Pete DeBoer said this morning, they responded with their best push of the game.

Montreal scored late in the first to take the lead, only to see Vegas grab one of its own, and the first period of Game 6 at Bell Centre on Thursday ended in a 1-1 tie.

The early parts of the first period felt like a game where neither team wanted to make the first mistake that led to a goal. It was Montreal who did blink, but the Golden Knights couldn't take advantage.

The game was about 9 minutes old when Montreal's Josh Anderson rushed in and made an aggressive poke at the puck. He missed, setting up 2-on-1 with Mattias Janmark and Nicolas Roy. Janmark stormed down the left wing, but waited too long to make a pass and by the time he made his move around the defenseman, he was on the side of the goal and the puck went nowhere.

Vegas took two penalties in the first, and the second one proved costly. Alec Martinez didn't get everything on a clearing attempt and the puck scuttled right to defenseman Shea Weber, who found up and blasted it into the net. It was a power-play goal at 14:06, and put the Canadiens up 1-0.

In Game 5, the Golden Knights allowed a goal in the first and didn't respond until it was far too late. This time they answered, and tied the game less than a minute after they fell behind. Reilly Smith put himself in the right place next to the Montreal net, and as Shea Theodore's point shot worked its way through traffic Smith put his stick on the ice and tipped the shot by Carey Price at 14:54, 48 seconds after Weber's goal.

Vegas got out of the first period despite some sloppy puck management. Weber's goal came off a giveaway, one of 11 in the period by the Golden Knights (Montreal had five). That's something Vegas will need to clean up in the next two periods.

The Golden Knights led 10-9 in shots after one.

Golden Knights determined heading to must-win Game 6 vs. Canadiens

Even after Tuesday's Game 5 loss, there was a sense of calm within the Golden Knights camp that permeated into the travel day Wednesday and morning skate today. The team has been in this position before, though the situation tonight is dire.

The Golden Knights take on the Montreal Canadiens at 5 p.m. in a bid to keep their season alive. Montreal leads the semifinal series 3-2 and has a chance to clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Final at home on Saint-John-Baptiste Day, a provincial holiday in Quebec. Vegas needs a win and is determined to get it.

"I think we have a lot of confidence," forward Reilly Smith said. "It's a do-or-die game and we're excited about the challenge and the opportunity to win this one and go back home for Game 7."

One subplot of this series is the goaltending, even if it's not one of the most pressing issues facing Vegas. Robin Lehner is expected to start Game 6 after a terrific Game 4 where he kept the Golden Knights alive long enough to net the equalizer and win in overtime. Marc-Andre Fleury has been good this series outside of a mistake that cost Vegas Game 3, but he couldn't overcome numerous defensive mistakes by the team in front of him last time out.

The Golden Knights have issues they need to sort out, and if they don't, it doesn't matter who the goalie is. The forwards still aren't scoring. The power play is still lifeless. They've taken until the third period to arrive the last two games. Montreal has executed its game plan to perfection for much of this series and does not look like the overmatched team many predicted entering the series.

The Canadiens play their best hockey with a lead. They are, at their core, a defensive team anchored by a strong top-four on the blue line and a rock star in goal. If they get the lead, they're hard to stop, evidenced by their 10-2 record when scoring first.

"You're playing with more confidence, you're more calm if you're up," Vegas forward Tomas Nosek said. "It's an advantage to score the first goal, but it's not the end of the world."

Outside of Lehner, the Golden Knights are projecting just one lineup change from the skaters. Nick Holden, who played the last seven games, was working with the extras during morning skate, while Nicolas Hague was not. Holden lost his defensive assignment in the first period Tuesday, leading to the Canadiens' first goal. Hague last played in Game 4 of the previous round against Colorado.

The Golden Knights have never extended a series when facing elimination, with all their victories in win-or-go home games coming in a Game 7. They are 2-3 all-time in elimination games but three of those are Game 7 (2-1 record). They lost in Game 5 against the Capitals in 2018 and in Game 5 against Dallas last season.

Stanley Cup Playoffs Round 3

Series: Canadiens lead 3-2

TV: USA Network (DirecTV 242, Cox 34, CenturyLink 125)

Radio: Fox Sports 1340 AM and 98.9 FM

Betting line: Golden Knights minus-145, Canadiens plus-125; over/under: 5 (minus-130, plus-110)

Golden Knights (10-8, West Division No. 2 seed)

Coach: Pete DeBoer (second season)

Points leader: William Karlsson (14)

Goals leader: Jonathan Marchessault (6)

Assists leader: William Karlsson (10)

Expected goalie: Robin Lehner (3.97 GAA, .877 save percentage)

Canadiens (11-5, North Division No. 4 seed)

Coach: Dominique Ducharme (first season)

Points leader: Tyler Toffoli (14)

Goals leaders: Joel Armia, Nick Suzuki, Tyler Toffoli (5)

Assists leaders: Tyler Toffoli (9)

Expected goalie: Carey Price (2.02 GAA, .933 save percentage)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Forwards

Max Pacioretty—Chandler Stephenson—Mark Stone

Jonathan Marchessault—William Karlsson—Reilly Smith

Mattias Janmark—Nicolas Roy—Alex Tuch

William Carrier—Tomas Nosek—Keegan Kolesar

Defensemen

Alec Martinez—Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb—Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague—Zach Whitecloud

Goalies

Robin Lehner, Marc-Andre Fleury