MONTREAL (AP) — Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury remains upbeat by attempting to look ahead to Game 4 of the Golden Knights' Stanley Cup semifinal playoff against the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.
Fleury put the onus on himself by referring to his late-game flub as a "screw up" a day after contributing to Montreal rallying to a 3-2 overtime win in Game 3.
PHOTOS: VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS, MONTREAL CANADIENS IN ROUND 3, STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
Vegas finds itself in the all too familiar position of facing adversity during a postseason run in which the team has now trailed in all three series.
Montreal's confidence is riding high in having won nine of 10, and leaning on the stellar play of goalie Carey Price.
Canadiens interim coach Dominique Ducharme says he remains symptom-free two days after testing positive for COVID-19. Ducharme hopes to be back behind bench during Montreal’s Stanley Cup semifinals series against Vegas.
Ducharme spoke from an undisclosed location during a 12-minute video conference call with reporters, his first comments since entering mandatory isolation.
He says he is fully vaccinated for the coronavirus and will clear the two-week waiting period following his second shot on Wednesday.
It's unclear whether he'll be able to return at that point.
Game 4 is Sunday night, followed by Game 5 at Vegas on Tuesday.
BY THE NUMBERS
Vegas Golden Knights (40-14-2, second in the West Division during the regular season) vs. Montreal Canadiens (24-21-11, fourth in the North Division during the regular season)
Montreal; Sunday, 8 p.m. EDT
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Canadiens +150, Golden Knights -178; over/under is 5
NHL PLAYOFFS THIRD ROUND: Canadiens lead series 2-1
BOTTOM LINE: The Montreal Canadiens host the Vegas Golden Knights in the third round of the NHL Playoffs with a 2-1 lead in the series. The teams meet Sunday for the fourth time this season. The Canadiens won the last meeting 3-2 in overtime. Josh Anderson scored a team-high two goals for the Canadiens in the victory.
The Canadiens are 13-11-4 at home. Montreal is 24th in the NHL with 31.2 shots per game and is averaging 2.8 goals.
The Golden Knights have gone 19-9-0 away from home. Vegas ranks third in the NHL averaging 3.4 goals per game, led by Max Pacioretty with 24.
TOP PERFORMERS: Tyler Toffoli leads the Canadiens with 28 goals and has 44 points. Joel Armia has five goals and one assist over the last 10 games for Montreal.
Shea Theodore leads the Golden Knights with a plus-28 in 53 games this season. Jonathan Marchessault has five goals and three assists over the last 10 games for Vegas.
DURING THE PLAYOFFS: Canadiens: Averaging 2.5 goals, 4.0 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.3 goals per game with a .928 save percentage.
Golden Knights: Averaging 3.0 goals, 5.1 assists, 2.8 penalties and 7.3 penalty minutes while giving up 2.4 goals per game with a .909 save percentage.
INJURIES: Canadiens: Jake Evans: out (concussion).
Golden Knights: Peyton Krebs: out (upper body), Chandler Stephenson: day to day (undisclosed).
