Canadiens complete sweep of Jets, advance to Round 3

The Montreal Canadiens appear to be a team of destiny.

Montreal is heading to the third round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after completing a sweep of the Winnipeg Jets with a 3-2 overtime win in Game 4 of their second-round series.

The Habs, who were the final team to qualify for the postseason, have now won seven straight playoff games. They never trailed in the series and haven't been behind since Game 4 of the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs, a span of 437 minutes and 53 seconds. That's the second-longest streak without trailing in a single postseason in NHL history.

Tyler Toffoli scored the winner 1:39 into OT with a beautiful one-timer set up by rookie Cole Caufield. The goal propels the Canadiens into the Stanley Cup semifinals for the first time since the 2013-14 season.

Erik Gustafsson and Artturi Lehkonen scored the regulation goals for Montreal, while Logan Stanley countered with both of Winnipeg's markers during the second period.

The game likely wouldn't have even gone into overtime without the play of Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner helped keep his team alive as long as possible with 39 saves. Carey Price stopped 14 of the 16 shots fired in his direction.

This matchup marked the sixth meeting since 2001 between a team coming off of a seven-game series and one that had just completed a four-game sweep. In an interesting wrinkle, the team that had the more grueling previous series has now won all six times.

Montreal awaits the winner of the series between the Colorado Avalanche and Las Vegas Golden Knights, with a berth in the Stanley Cup Final on the line.

Copyright (C) 2021 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.