Nick Suzuki’s goal in the first minute of overtime lifted the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 5 of their Stanley Cup opening round playoff series.
Posted May 28, 2021, 05:05AM EDT
Nick Suzuki’s goal in the first minute of overtime lifted the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 5 of their Stanley Cup opening round playoff series.
Cole Caufield intercepted an errant Alex Galchenyuk in Montreal’s zone and moved in on a 2-on-0 breakaway with Suzuki, who made a pass to Caufield after crossing into Toronto’s zone before getting the puck back from his rookie teammate to beat a helpless Jack Campbell blocker side.
CAUFIELD ➡️ SUZUKI ????
The @CanadiensMTL force Game 6 in OT! #ItsOn pic.twitter.com/MCiznGekzu
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 28, 2021
Joel Armia, with two, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi had the other goals for Montreal. Carey Price made 32 saves.
Jake Muzzin, with two, and Zach Hyman replied for the Leafs, while Campbell stopped 26 shots.
With the win the Canadiens avoided elimination, forcing Game 6 in Montreal on Saturday night where as many as 2,500 fans will be in attendance – the first Canadian NHL crowd in Canada since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
The Winnipeg Jets await the winner of Toronto-Montreal following their surprise sweep of Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers in the North Division’s other first-round series.
Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report
