MONTREAL — Artturi Lehkonen is keeping his composure after becoming part of the Montreal Canadiens’ illustrious history by scoring the franchise’s most important goal in nearly three decades.
If the upstart Canadiens’ remarkable playoff run has been fueled, in part, by a desire to earn respect, then their journey is not yet complete. The team with the worst record of the NHL’s 16 playoff qualifiers now has the daunting task of facing the defending champion Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final, which opens at Tampa Bay on Monday.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence,” Lekhonen said Saturday, two days after his goal at 1:39 of overtime sealed a 3-2 win over Vegas in Game 6 of the semifinals and vaulted Montreal to its first Cup Final appearance since winning its 24th title in 1993.