By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.cm
Oh, they love Marc-Andre Fleury in Las Vegas.
But it was Robin Lehner, the Panda-sized goalie, who stood tall against the Montreal Canadiens in a crucial Game 4 Sunday and stopped 27 of 28 Habs shot to stonewall Montreal and pave the way for a Nic Roy’s game-winning goal a mere 78 seconds into overtime.
The Vegas/Montreal series is tied at 2 games apiece and the NHL Final 4 semis are now a best-of-three with the Knights holding the home ice advantage. Game 5 is set for Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena. LVSportsBiz.com will be there.
Flower and I have gotten really close this year supporting each other. We don’t care about the noise. It’s just great motivation for me. It was very enjoyable on Twitter today. Thank you very much for giving me that motivation. — VGK goalie Robin Lehner
In OT, Roy showed remarkable patience by gathering a rebound off Montreal netminder Carey Price and showing an amazing dose of patience by sliding to his right and making sure he lifted the puck up and over Price for the game-winner in the VGK 2-1 victory. Roy grew up in Quebec.
Montreal was less than 10 minutes away from seizing a 3-1 series lead when VGK defenseman Brayden McNabb took a pass from William Karlsson and squeezed a shot past Price. The puck struck the Canadiens goalie in the chest, but it dribbled behind him and into the net for the Knights’ equalizer with 9:23 left in the third period.
The Habs were clinging to a 1-0 lead courtesy of a goal by Paul Byron, who took a feed and skated in on Lehner for the breakaway goal with only 1:05 left in the second period.
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Lehner played rock-solid.
He made a game-saving stop on Montreal’s young forward Cole Caufield on a breakaway before McNabb notched the tying goal in the third period.
Lehner enjoys using social media to connect with fans and did the same after the 2-1 win, which had 3,500 fans at the Bell Centre. Expect about 18,000 fans at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday.
The last time Lehner played was Game 1 against Colorado and the Knights were annihilated, 7-1, by the Avalanche.
But Sunday, Lehner was steady throughout the game, moving laterally well and anticipating shots superbly.
The last two games have gone into OT and three of the four VGK vs MTL games have been one-goal games.
Will Lehner get the start for the Knights on Tuesday in Las Vegas? One thing is for sure — VGK coach Pete DeBoer won’t tell beforehand.