Canadiens push Golden Knights to brink in Semifinals with Game 5 win

LAS VEGAS -- The Montreal Canadiens took the lead in the Stanley Cup Semifinals with a 4-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.

Nick Suzuki had a goal and two assists, and Cole Caufield scored for the Canadiens, who are one win from their first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final since 1993. Carey Price made 26 saves.
"I think at the start of the playoffs, a lot of people counted us out," Suzuki said. "I think just the belief in this group … we're a really confident team right now."
Max Pacioretty scored for the Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury made 22 saves in his return to the Vegas net after Robin Lehner made 27 saves in a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 4 on Sunday.
"It's best-of-7 for a reason," Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb said. "We didn't play good at all today. We played right into their game; we didn't play our game at all."
Game 6 is at Montreal on Thursday. Teams that take a 3-2 lead are 47-15 (.758) winning a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff semifinals series.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead at 8:45 of the first period. Fleury made the save on Josh Anderson's backhand on a breakaway, but Kotkaniemi scored into an open net on the rebound.

Eric Staal made it 2-0 at 6:32 of the second period after receiving a cross-ice pass from Suzuki.
"I thought I had some good speed down the wall, and that drew two guys toward me," Suzuki said. "I thought when I got down the corner, if I turned up, someone would come up late. [Staal] was in a great spot, and it was a great shot."
Caufield extended the lead to 3-0 when he scored on the power play at 9:49. Suzuki forced a turnover in the neutral zone to create a 2-on-1, and Caufield scored his third goal of the series with a one-timer off a pass from Corey Perry.

The Canadiens were 1-for-2 on the power play. The Golden Knights were 0-for-2.
Pacioretty cut it to 3-1 at 4:09 of the third period on a wrist shot from the slot. It was the first goal by a top-six forward for Vegas in the series.
"Hard to explain. We didn't have great legs, didn't have great execution," Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. "You have to give them credit. I thought they played a real good road game. And then obviously falling behind early against that team is tough. That's not a formula for success, we've shown."
Suzuki scored into an empty net with 1:06 remaining for the 4-1 final. It was the first three-point NHL playoff game for the forward, who was acquired by Montreal in the trade that sent Pacioretty to Vegas on Sept. 9, 2018.
It was the third straight game the Canadiens were coached by Luke Richardson since coach Dominique Ducharme tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday.
"We're definitely excited with what we're doing right now, but we don't want to get ahead of ourselves," Richardson said. "We finish off games the right way. We're going to go into the next game, and it's one game to win."
NOTES: Caufield has scored six points (three goals, three assists) in the past seven games. With eight points (three goals, five assists) in 14 games in the playoffs, he is the first Montreal rookie to score at least eight points in a single postseason since defenseman P.K. Subban in 2010 (one goal, seven assists). ... The Canadiens have not allowed a power-play goal in the past 12 games, the longest postseason streak since the NHL began tracking goals by strength in 1933-34. They are 28-for-28 on the penalty kill in that span. The 1936-37 Detroit Red Wings, 1939-40 New York Rangers and 1999-2000 New Jersey Devils each had a 10-game streak, tied for the second-longest. ... The Golden Knights are 0-for-13 on the power play in the series. ... Montreal improved to 7-2 on the road in the playoffs, tying its record for road wins in a single postseason, set in 1989 when it went 7-3. ... Kotkaniemi and Caufield became the first NHL teammates 20 years old or younger to each score a goal in a game in the third round of the playoffs since Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal for the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 2 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Final against the Philadelphia Flyers. ... Canadiens forward Paul Byron has two goals and two assists during a four-game point streak. He had an assist on Kotkaniemi's goal. ... Tyler Toffoli had two assists and leads the Canadiens with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in the playoffs.