The Montreal Canadiens, through the early 1990s, were a heavyweight in the NHL, the New York Yankees of hockey. This year, they were the ultimate underdog in the postseason… and yet they have made their way to the Stanley Cup final. The Habs upset the Las Vegas Golden Knights by taking Game 6 in overtime, 3-2. Artturi Lehkonen scored the game-winning goal in the early minutes of the first extra period. Montreal won the series, four games to two, and will now compete for the most treasured trophy in North American sports.

Las Vegas, down 2-1 entering the third period, tied the game at 2-2 on a goal by Alec Martinez. Lehkonen snapped the tie and sent the city of Montreal into a frenzy by scoring the winner in the early minutes of overtime. The Canadiens and their elite goalie, Carey Price, continued their magical run.

This has been an NHL season unlike any other, and the Canadiens were supreme beneficiaries of the way the league set up the postseason.

Because of COVID-19 protocols and restrictions, all the Canadian teams were kept in a separate division so that they could play each other and limit cross-border travel into the United States. A number of NHL teams did not play each other in a shortened 56-game season. The Canadiens finished at 24-21-11, collecting 59 points. That was the 18th-best point total this season, but since the league's postseason setup allowed for the top four teams in all four divisions (Central, East, North, West) to make the playoffs, Montreal — finishing fourth in the North — got in. Two teams with more points than the Habs — the New York Rangers and Dallas Stars — finished with 60 points but placed fifth in their respective divisions. They didn't make the playoffs. Montreal did… and the most famous franchise in hockey made the most of its opportunity.

The Canadiens are the living embodiment of hockey history… and they made a ton of history with this series win over Las Vegas, which had the most regular-season wins (40) of any NHL team this season, and tied the Colorado Avalanche for the most points this year (82).

The unusual division setup made it possible for Montreal to play for the Clarence Campbell Bowl, not the Prince of Wales Trophy. The Canadiens used to belong to the Wales Conference, later renamed the Eastern Conference, but under this adjusted geographical setup in 2021, the Habs were slotted to the equivalent of the Western Conference and the Campbell Bowl. They claimed the trophy for the first time ever.

What also matters to Montrealers is that the Canadiens reached the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1993. That was a memorable and celebrated series throughout Canada, because the Habs' opponent in that 1993 Cup final series was Wayne Gretzky, a Canadian icon who left the Edmonton Oilers to go to Hollywood and play for the Los Angeles Kings. The Habs won the series… and a Canadian team hasn't lifted Lord Stanley's Cup at any point in the next 28 years.

The Canadiens, who are the first Canadian team to make the Cup final since the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, will try to put an end to Canada's 28-year Stanley Cup drought against the winner of Friday's Game 7 between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New York Islanders.