LOS ANGELES, June 23, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Nick Suzuki had a goal and two
assists and Carey Price stopped 26 shots as the Montreal Canadiens moved to
within one win of reaching the Stanley Cup finals with a 4-1 victory over the
Vegas Golden Knights.

  Montreal grabbed a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven NHL semi-final thanks to a
balanced offensive attack on Tuesday night in front of a crowd of 17,900 at
T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

  Game six is scheduled for Thursday in Montreal.

  Montreal are seeking to make it to the finals for the first time since they
beat the Los Angeles Kings in five games in 1993.

  Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Eric Staal and Cole Caufield also scored goals for the
Canadiens in the win. Tyler Toffoli added two assists.

  Max Pacioretty scored a goal and Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 22 saves
for Vegas.

  Kotkaniemi's fifth goal of the postseason opened the scoring at 8:45 of the
first. He collected a rebound and backhanded the puck into an open net after
Fleury made the initial save on Zach Whitecloud.

  Montreal boosted their lead to 3-0 halfway through the second when 20-year-
old Caufield scored on the power play.

  Pacioretty trimmed the margin to 3-1 with his fifth goal of the postseason
early in the third.

  The Golden Knights pulled Fleury for an extra attacker with 2:55 to go and
Suzuki scored into the empty net with 66 seconds remaining.

  Montreal assistant Luke Richardson once again took over head coaching
duties after Dominique Ducharme tested positive for Covid-19 before game
three.