"They've been in existence over 100 years longer than we have which means very little when the puck drops on Monday night," said Golden Knights General Manager Kelly McCrimmon.
In a season unlike any other, the league-wide regular season standings show plenty of breathing room between the No. 2 Golden Knights and No. 18 Canadiens. But the playoffs are a different beast. Here's how Vegas and Montreal stack up heading into the final four.
HOW VEGAS GOT HERE
Though the Golden Knights had the most wins in the NHL in the regular season, they found themselves with the No. 2 seed in the Honda West Division. Vegas drew Minnesota in the first round and battled to a seven-game series win against the Wild. Mattias Janmark led Vegas in scoring in that series with six points including a hat trick in Game 7. The Golden Knights punched their tickets to the second round but fell behind 2-0 in the series to the Colorado Avalanche. When the scene shifted to Vegas for Game 3, the Golden Knights found their stride to rattle off four consecutive victories to win the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Semifinals. Jonathan Marchessault scored five times against Colorado including a hat trick in Game 4. William Karlsson leads the Golden Knights through 13 playoff games with 11 points (4G, 7A).
HOW MONTREAL GOT HERE
After snagging the final berth into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Canadiens found themselves down 3-1 to the Scotia North Division champion Toronto Maple Leafs after four games. Montreal erased the series deficit with a pair of overtime wins and churned out a 3-1 win in Game 7 to advance to the second round. The Canadiens met the Winnipeg Jets in the second round who had just swept the No. 2 Edmonton Oilers in four games. Winnipeg found itself on the wrong side of a second-round sweep as the Canadiens beat them four times in a row to reach the third round for the first time since 2014. Tyler Toffoli paces the Canadiens with 10 points (4G, 6A) through 11 games and has two game-winning goals. Former Vegas prospect Nick Suzuki ranks second on the team with eight points (4G, 4A).
WHEN LAST WE MET…
You have to the clock back to Jan. 18, 2020, to see the last matchup between the Golden Knights and Canadiens. Pete DeBoer made his second appearance behind the Vegas bench as the Golden Knights erased a 4-2 deficit in the third period en route to a 5-4 shootout loss to the Canadiens at Bell Centre. Reilly Smith scored with eight seconds left in regulation to force overtime for the Golden Knights who played their third game of a four-game trip against Atlantic Division opponents.
GOALTENDING DUEL
Marc-Andre Fleury and Carey Price are the frontrunners to make Team Canada at the 2022 Olympics and will meet in the playoffs for the second time in their careers this week. Price and the Canadiens defeated Fleury and the Penguins in seven games in 2010. This year, Price has posted a 1.97 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage in the playoffs. He's been in net for all 11 of Montreal's games this postseason and has one shutout under his belt. Fleury carries a 1.91 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage into the semifinals. He's 8-4 in the playoffs and had a shutout against Minnesota in the first round.
