Canadiens eliminate Golden Knights in 6 games, advance to Stanley Cup Final

Artturi Lehkonen scored 1:39 into overtime, Carey Price stopped 37 shots and the Montreal Canadiens advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 28 years following a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.

Cole Caufield and captain Shea Weber also scored, and the Canadiens eliminated the Golden Knights in Game 6 of their semifinal series. Considered mere afterthoughts after entering the playoffs with the worst record, Montreal has won 11 of 13 since falling behind 3-1 to Toronto in its first-round series.

Montreal will make its NHL-leading 35th Stanley Cup Final appearance with a shot to add to its 24 championships. The Canadiens will face the winner of the semifinal series between the defending champion Lightning and New York Islanders. Game 7 is at Tampa Bay on Friday.

“We wouldn’t be here right now if we didn’t believe,” Price said. “We’ve believed this whole time and obviously we’re ecstatic and we have a lot of work left to do.”

The Golden Knights, making their third semifinal appearance in four seasons of existence, fell short of returning to the championship round for the first time since their inaugural campaign in 2018, when they lost to Washington in five games. They were undone by a sputtering offense which managed just nine goals against Montreal following a 4-1 series-opening win, and an anemic power play that went 0-of-17 against the Canadiens.

The game was decided off a faceoff in the Montreal end, and after Price held his ground to stop former Canadiens captain Max Pacioretty set up in the left circle. Montreal’s Phil Danault gained the Vegas zone, drew two defenders in the middle and slipped a no-look pass to his left to Lehkonen, who lifted a shot beating Robin Lehner high on the short side.

“Just trying to go high and hit the net,” Lehkonen said. “We’re trying to keep it going one game at a time and not think things too much far ahead. I feel like we showed up today and it’s a big win for us and we have four more to go.”

Lehner stopped 29 shots.

“It (stinks) we couldn’t get over the hump,” Lehner said. “We’re a hard-working group. … I’m proud of everyone in there. We’re right there knocking on the door.”

The Golden Knights twice erased one-goal deficits. Reilly Smith scored 48 seconds after Weber opened the scoring. Alec Martinez tied it again 68 seconds into the third period by converting a rebound after Price was unable to glove Alex Pietrangelo’s shot from the top of the right circle.

Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer turned to Lehner for a second straight time in Montreal, and with the team traveling cross-country for the second time in three days.

Lehner provided Vegas a much-needed lift in stopping 27 shots in a 2-1 overtime win in Game 4 to even the series at 2. Fleury gave up three goals on 25 shots on Tuesday in making his 16th start this postseason.

It marked an unlikely end for a Golden Knights team that finished the regular season with a 40-14-2, record and matched the President’s Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche with 82 points. Vegas overcame adversity in its first two playoff rounds. The Golden Knights squandered an opening-round 3-1 series lead to Minnesota, before winning Game 7. Vegas then fell behind 2-0 in the second round to Colorado before winning the next four games.

In Montreal, it suddenly it feels like 1993 all over again, when a veteran-laden, defense-first team with a star goalie in Patrick Roy made a surprise run and beat the Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings in five games to win Montreal’s 24th Stanley Cup.

Canadiens assistant coach Luke Richardson, who was playing for Edmonton at the time, sees various similarities.

“There’s always differences as well,” he said earlier in the day. “But I remember playing against that team, and it was just a tough, stingy team to play against. And that’s what we want to be every night.

Though considered underdogs throughout the playoffs, Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin this week said his offseason vision in building the team with a strong defense was better suited for the playoffs than the regular season. Montreal was affected by injuries and a late-season coronavirus outbreak in closing the year 0-3-2 for a 24-21-11 finish.

The Canadiens then opened the playoffs rallying from a 3-1 first-round series deficit against Toronto, before sweeping the Winnipeg Jets in the second round. The Canadiens once again faced adversity in opening the semifinals with a 4-1 loss at Vegas before regaining their defensive-smothering and quick-strike transition offensive identity to win four of the next five.

They’ve played with an unflinching focus, and overcome missing interim coach Dominique Ducharme, who has spent the past four games in quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.

Montreal becomes just the sixth Canadian-based team to reach the final since 1994, and first since the Vancouver Canucks lost to Boston in seven games in 2011.

The Canadiens also clinched their berth on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, the Quebec nation’s cultural holiday, and equivalent to the Fourth of July in the U.S.

The area around the Bell Centre was buzzing more than two hours before faceoff, with security officials barring fans from the arena side of St. Antoine Street where players enter. A large crowd of fans were instead limited to watching behind a permanent barrier on the other side of the street. With only 3,500 fans allowed to attend due to COVID restrictions, there were far more people packing the plaza outside the arena.

On the advice of Montreal police, the Canadiens had the fans stay inside the building well after Lehkonen scored.

THE FOUR HORSEMEN?

The Canadiens top-four defensemen might have a new nickname.

Assistant coach Luke Richardson, who played defense over 21 NHL seasons, was discussing Ben Chiarot’s value to the team when noting his 6-foot-3, 225-frame and hard-hitting meshes well with Montreal’s other top-three blue-liners, Shea Weber, Jeff Petry and Joel Edmundson.

“He is a horse,” Richardson said of Chiarot. “Those four Clydesdales play a lot, and they play heavy.”

Lightning shut down Islanders to take Game 3

Brayden Point kept up his scoring touch with a tiebreaking goal late in the second period, Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 27 shots and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the New York Islanders 2-1 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup semifinals.

Yanni Gourde also scored to help Tampa Bay improve to 6-1 on the road in the playoffs.

Cal Clutterbuck scored for the Islanders, and Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves.

Game 4 is Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum, with Game 5 back in Tampa on Monday night.

The Islanders outshot the Lightning 8-5 in a tight third period, but couldn’t tie it. They pulled Varlamov for an extra skater with about 1:48 remaining but couldn’t manage a shot on goal.

Both teams had chances in a fast-paced second period. The Islanders had some sustained pressure in the offensive zone midway through, but couldn’t beat Vasilevskiy. The goalie denied a shot by Adam Pelech with 6 minutes to go and Mathew Barzal hit a goalpost seconds later. Vasilevskiy then denied Barzal’s tip try.

The Islanders tied it late in the second. Off a scramble for the puck in front of Vasilveskiy, Lightning defenseman Eric Cernak attempted to push the puck into the goalie. Clutterbuk and several players whacked at the puck and it went through Vasilevskiy’s feet and in with 2:22 left.

The Lightning regained the lead just four seconds after their power play expired in the final minute of the second. Point got the rebound of a point shot by Victor Hedman and whipped it in past Varlamov as he was falling to the ice with 18 seconds remaining. It was Point’s 11th of the postseason and extended his goals streak to six games. He has eight goals in the last nine games.

The Lightning outshot the Islanders 9-7 in the first and got on the scoreboard first midway through the period. Blake Coleman’s shot from the left circle was stopped by Varlamov. Coleman got the rebound and sent a backhand pass across the front of the goal from behind the line, and Gourde knocked it in from the right side for his third of the postseason with 9:55 left.

STRIKING FIRST

The Lightning improved to 10-1 when scoring first this postseason. They are 0-3 when allowing the first goal. The Islanders dropped to 5-5 when the opponent scores first.

GAME 3 FORTUNES

The Islanders have lost Game 3 at home in each of their three playoff series to fall into a 2-1 series deficit. They rebounded with three straight wins to advance past Pittsburgh in the first round and Boston in the second round,

The Lightning have led 2-1 after three games in each of their series. They lost Game 3 in their first two series, against Florida and Carolina. However, those were at home after Tampa Bay won each of the first two games on the road.

Lightning beat Islanders in Game 2 to even up series

The Tampa Bay Lightning are running out of superlatives to describe the playmaking ability of NHL playoff scoring leader Nikita Kucherov.

“He’s remarkably gifted … does everything with grace,” coach Jon Cooper said Tuesday night after one of the league’s most creative scorers had three more assists to help the defending Stanley Cup champions even the Stanley Cup semifinals with a 4-2 win over the New York Islanders in Game 2.

“He’s just so smooth in the plays he makes, his vision and how he can see and make plays,” Cooper added. “It almost looks effortless. … I know it’s not. He works at doing what he does extremely well. But he sure can make plays out of what looks like nothing. … And, he is fun to watch.”

Kucherov had his fourth game with three or more points this postseason, assisting on goals by Brayden Point, Ondrej Palat and Victor Hedman as the defending champions improved to 12-0 in games following a playoff loss since start of last year’s title run.

Point scored a goal for the fifth straight game, hiking his league-leading playoff total to 10. Palat put Tampa Bay ahead for good with a second-period goal that replays showed was scored with the Lightning having too many men on the ice.

“It was missed, that’s hockey,” New York winger Matt Martin said. “It happens, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Move on to the next game at home and focus on that.”

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 24 of 26 shots for the Lightning, who entered Tuesday night facing a series deficit for the first time since dropping Game 1 of last year’s Stanley Cup final against the Dallas Stars.

“We knew they were going to come with a good response,” Islanders conter Brock Nelson said. “I thought we did a pretty good job out of the gates. But they were able to get a couple and get the lead and we weren’t able to get it back.”

Hedman and Jan Rutta scored in the third period against Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov, who missed a portion of the opening period after a collision with Point a little over 13 minutes into the game.

Nelson and Mathew Barzal scored unassisted goals for New York, which — despite the loss — will return home feeling good about itself heading into Game 3 Thursday night.

“We can be a lot better and we will be,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said.

“I thought the first two periods we were pretty good for the most part. We knew a very good hockey team was going to have a desperate push,” Trotz added. “Obviously the second goal hurt quite a bit because now if they get the third one there’s a little bit more separation. And … there were too many men on the ice. Seven guys. That was disappointing.”

Point, pushed from behind by New York’s Adam Pelech, barreled into Varlamov at 6:50 of the first period. The Lightning star drew a penalty for interference on the goalie, and the Islanders wasted no time taking advantage of what Tampa Bay felt was a questionable call.

Nelson’s goal from in front of the net tied it 1-1 just 20 seconds into the power play.

Ilya Sorokin replaced Varlamov for the remainder of the first period. He stopped all six shots he faced before Varlamov, who allowed four goals on 27 shots, returned.

ON POINT

Point has 10 goals in 13 games this postseason after setting a Lightning franchise playoff record with 14 during last year’s Stanley Cup run. The 25-year-old center scored off a nifty no-look pass from Kucherov, who delivered the puck from behind the net. Kucherov’s three assists boosted his league-leading playoff point total to 22 (five goals, 17 assists) after missing the entire regular season while recovering from hip surgery.

“I think it was just a feel for each other and trying to read off each other before the puck gets behind the net,” Kucherov said, describing what happened on Point’s goal. “I’m trying to think what he would be thinking. I tried to find him on the short side, and he did a helluva job putting it in.”

QUITE A PACE

Kucherov has 44 assists since the start of the 2020 playoffs. That’s the most in consecutive seasons by a NHL player since Doug Gilmore had 47 in 1993 and 1994.

VARLAMOV’S STREAK

The loss snapped Varlamov’s personal four-game winning streak. Sorokin has also had a four-game winning streak this postseason, helping the Islanders eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.

Bell Centre to host 3,500 fans for upcoming Canadiens games

The Bell Centre will be a bit more full when the Montreal Canadiens return for Game 3 on Friday.

The Quebec government announced Tuesday that it’s relaxing the rules for public events. One of the changes will increase the indoor capacity from 2,500 people to 3,500 and go into effect on Thursday.

Montreal was the first Canadian city to allow fans to attend NHL games during the first round of the playoffs. The majority of American teams welcomed back fans during the regular season, and the remaining teams in the postseason are operating near full capacity.

The Canadiens will take on the Vegas Golden Knights at the Bell Centre for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday. There were 17,884 fans in attendance for Game 1 in Vegas, according to TSN’s Mark Masters.

Vegas opens Stanley Cup semifinal with 4-1 win over Montreal

Shea Theodore had a goal and an assist, Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 in the first game of the Stanley Cup semifinal.

Vegas’ fifth-straight victory in the playoffs ended Montreal’s postseason win streak at seven. Game 2 is Wednesday night.

Fleury, whose 90th career playoff win leaves him two shy of tying Grant Fuhr for third place all-time, has now allowed two or fewer goals in nine of his 13 playoff appearances this season.

Alec Martinez, Mattias Janmark, and Nick Holden also scored for the Golden Knights, who were vividly fueled by an announced crowd of 17,884 glow-stick waving fans.

Rookie Cole Caufield scored his first career playoff goal for Montreal, while goaltender Carey Price made 26 saves.

It marked Montreal’s first game in the United States since March 7, 2020, when it visited the Florida Panthers. It was also the Canadiens’ first game with more than 2,500 fans in attendance since March 10, 2020, when they hosted the Nashville Predators in front of 21,021 fans inside Bell Centre.

Montreal came out swinging, literally, with an introduction to old-school, Original Six physicality. Looking to establish their presence, and show no signs of intimidation of the highest remaining seed in the postseason, the Canadiens pushed and shoved their way into Game 1.

Alexander Romanov opted to flatten Alex Pietrangelo, who was streaking into the offensive zone, rather than play the puck. Brendan Gallagher crowded Fleury upon stoppage, prompting the Vezina Trophy candidate to pop up in retaliation mode. Corey Perry exchanged words with former Montreal captain Max Pacioretty just before a faceoff, then gave him an extra shove when the puck dropped. Then it was Brett Kulak and Pietrangelo getting tangled up after a whistle.

It took a couple of hard hits of their own, but the Golden Knights muscled up with a rugged shift midway through the opening period that led to a draw in their offensive zone. Chandler Stephenson won the faceoff to the left of Price, with the puck ending up with Brayden McNabb, who found Theodore, who proceeded to launch a rocket from the blue line to give Vegas a 1-0 lead.

Looking as if he was going to tee off from the point early in the second period, Theodore drew back his stick to pull Price toward the front of the crease, then dished to his right, where Martinez was in position with a wide-eyed look for a one-timer.

The Canadiens finally scored when Caufield, who was given the Hobey Baker Award as the top collegiate player in April, snapped home a power-play rebound from the left circle, catching Fleury out of position after an initial save.

Janmark put home a rebound 53 seconds later, pushing Vegas’ lead back to two goals, 3-1.

With a thunderous chant of “Fleury’s better!!!” reverberating behind Perry, Reilly Smith sent a gorgeous pass through the zone to Holden, who fired a wrist shot blocker side to put Vegas ahead 4-1 midway through the third period.

It marked the first time this postseason a team got three goals from defensemen in a single game.

Teams that win Game 1 are 108-50 (.684) winning a best-of-7 NHL semifinals series.

Bergevin: There were no easy nights in North Division

Montreal Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin isn’t buying the idea that the North Division was easy to play in.

“There was not an easy night in our division,” Bergevin said Saturday, per Sportsnet. “Like I said, travel was hard. Even the last-place team, or close to the last-place team, the Ottawa Senators, they finished pretty strong, and if it wasn’t for their start they’d probably be battling for a playoff spot.”

He added, “Plus, hockey in Canada, you’re in the spotlight every night. So it was a tough division and hockey was at its best. Every team almost had superstars, and it was not easy.”

The NHL realigned its divisions for the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the Canada-U.S. border being closed, the league was forced to create a seven-team all-Canadian division.

The division was criticized throughout the year for not being as competitive as the other three. Some have pointed to the fact that the Canadiens made the postseason despite finishing in 18th in the league’s overall standings.

Several of this season’s top performers hailed from the division. Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid led the league with 105 points, while Toronto Maple Leafs sniper Auston Matthews won the “Rocket” Richard Trophy with 41 goals. Five of the top 10 scorers came from the North: McDavid, Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, Mitch Marner, and Mark Scheifele.

The Canadiens are the final team standing in the North after defeating the Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets in the first two rounds. The club will open its third-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night.

Kucherov counters Hamilton’s salary cap comment: ‘I didn’t make the rules’

Nikita Kucherov has responded to Dougie Hamilton‘s comment on Thursday about the Carolina Hurricanes losing to a Tampa Bay Lightning squad that’s “$18 million over the cap.”

“I didn’t make the rules with the cap,” Kucherov said Friday, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith. “It’s not me. I didn’t do anything on purpose. I had to do the surgery. I had to go through the whole five months of rehabilitation, and when the time came and I was ready to play, I was playing.”

Kucherov missed the entire 2020-21 campaign after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason, allowing the Bolts to alleviate their cap crunch by placing his $9.5 million average annual value on long-term injured reserve, where it wouldn’t count against the cap.

The former Hart Trophy winner returned for the playoff opener and currently leads all skaters with 18 points in 11 playoff games.

If Kucherov hadn’t missed the entire season, Tampa Bay likely would’ve been forced to part with a valuable player, such as Alex Killorn, to get under the cap. Otherwise, the Lightning would’ve likely had to send a significant sweetener to another team for taking on a player with an undesirable contract, like fourth-liner Tyler Johnson, who carries a $5-million cap hit.

However, Tampa was able to activate Kucherov for the postseason with no repercussions since the cap doesn’t apply to the playoffs.

The Bolts’ final cap hit was $98.8 million – $17.3 million over the ceiling – per CapFriendly.

Suzuki reflects on trade from Knights: It’s about proving Bergevin right

Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki hasn’t been looking to exact revenge on the Vegas Golden Knights since being traded by the club in 2018.

Suzuki was drafted by the Golden Knights with the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft but was quickly traded to the Canadiens in a blockbuster deal involving ex-Habs captain Max Pacioretty.

“I think it worked out for both teams obviously. When Marc called me and said I was a big piece that they wanted I just wanted to show that Montreal made the right decision in bringing me over and I want to do everything I can for this franchise,” Suzuki said via TSN on Friday when asked if he’s ever wanted to prove Vegas wrong for moving him.

“It was more about proving Marc right to want me in the deal.”

Suzuki was dealt to Montreal alongside Tomas Tatar and a second-round pick for Pacioretty. He never suited up in a game for Vegas and was ultimately with the organization for just one year.

The two teams are now set to meet in Round 3 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with both Suzuki and Pacioretty playing big roles with their respective club since the trade.

Suzuki put together a solid rookie season with the Canadiens last year, racking up 13 goals and 41 points in 71 games. This season, he stepped his game up and recorded 41 points in just 56 contests.

He’s played an integral role with Montreal so far in the postseason, scoring four goals and adding four assists in 11 games.

Pacioretty has continued his top-notch play with Vegas since arriving in 2018. Over the span of the last three seasons, he leads the club in goals (78) and points (157). He has four goals and four assists in seven games so far during the playoffs.

Rask needs surgery for torn hip labrum, likely out until at least January

It turns out Tuukka Rask‘s postseason injury needed more than just “some maintenance.”

The Boston Bruins netminder played through a torn labrum in his hip, he told reporters Friday. Rask will undergo surgery within the next month and will likely be out until January or February.

“It was hard,” he said. “I had it all year.”

Rask added he thinks he hurt his hip during the 2020 playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes. Wear and tear made the injury worse over time. While compensating for the hip, his back seized up, and he could barely walk for a week, which forced him to miss some time during the regular season.

The pending unrestricted free agent also reiterated that he wants to play next year but won’t do so for any NHL team other than the Bruins. Rask was then asked what he would do if Boston doesn’t want to re-sign him.

“Maybe I go home and play in Finland,” he said. “I’m part owner of a team there. Who knows?”

Rask posted a .913 save percentage and a 2.28 goals against average in 24 games during the regular season. The 33-year-old started all 11 postseason contests for the Bruins, sporting a .919 save percentage and a 2.36 goals against average.

Jaroslav Halak is also a pending UFA, so youngsters Jeremy Swayman and Dan Vladar are the only Bruins goalies under contract for next year.

Islanders eliminate Bruins, will face Lightning in semifinals

Brock Nelson scored twice in another big second period by New York, Semyon Varlamov stopped 23 shots and the Islanders beat the Boston Bruins 6-2 in Game 6 on Wednesday night to advance to the Stanley Cup semifinals for the second straight year.

Kyle Palmieri, Trais Zajac, Cal Clutterbuck and Ryan Pulock also scored to help the Islanders set up a rematch with the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Josh Bailey and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each had two assists.

Brad Marchand scored twice for Boston, and Tuukka Rask made 23 saves.

With the Bruins on the power play, Marchand got the puck in front of the net and put a backhander past Varlamov from the right side at 5:38 of the third to cut Boston’s deficit to 4-2. It was Marchand’s fifth of the series and eighth of the postseason.

The Islanders’ stifling defense limited the Bruins to just five shots on goal in the third. With the minutes winding down on Boston’s season, New York hemmed the Bruins in their end of the ice, preventing them from pulling Rask for an extra skater until 1:25 left.

Clutterbuck scored an empty-netter with 59 seconds left to seal it, and Pulock added another 11 seconds later.

The score was tied 1-1 after 20 minutes, but the Islanders took control with another big second period. After outscoring the Bruins 8-3 in the middle periods of the first five games, New York had three more in the second — for the third time in the series.

The Islanders went on their first power play of the game 2:18 into the second period when Karson Kuhlman was caught for tripping Mathew Barzal. The Islanders managed one shot on goal during the advantage. Shortly after the power play expired, Varlamov had kick save on Patrice Bergeron from the right side at 4:36.

Nelson stole the puck from Matt Grzelcyk took off on breakaway and beat Rask into the top right corner at 5:20 to put New York up 2-1.

Varlamov made successive saves on tries by Chris Wagner and Charlie Coyle with 8 1/2 minutes remaining in the middle period to preserve the Islanders’ lead and draw chants of “Var-ly! Var-ly!” from the home crowd.

Josh Bailey stole an outlet pass from Rask and fed Nelson streaking to net, and Nelson beat the goalie from the right side with 7:23 left in the second for his second of the night at sixth of the playoffs.

With the Bruins trailing 3-1 in the elimination game, Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy broke up his Perfection Line of David Pastrnak-Marchand-Bergeron.

However, the Islanders stretched the lead to 4-1 as Adam Pelech sent a shot from the left point that was stopped by Rask. However, Palmieri swooped in, took the rebound and put it in from the right side for his seventh of the postseason.

With the Nassau Coliseum crowd roaring from before the puck drop, the game got off to a fast-paced start with plenty of hard hits on both sides.

The Islanders got on the scoreboard first. After a faceoff in the offensive zone, Noah Dobson fired a shot from the right point that was stopped by Rask. However, the rebound kicked out in front and Zajac grabbed it and put it in at 8:52 for his first goal this postseason.

Boston went on the power play with 5:47 left in the first when Anthony Beauvillier was whistled for tripping Charlie McAvoy. Casey Cizikas was called for a tripping penalty as well with 4 minutes remaining, putting the Bruins on a 5-on-3 for 14 seconds.

It drew chants of “New York Saints! New York Saints!” from the crowd, a reference to what Cassidy called the Islanders when complaining about the imbalance in penalties after Game 4.

The Islanders killed off the first penalty, but Marchand tied the score with 2:24 remaining as he got a cross-ice pass from Pastrnak in the right circle and quickly bet Varlamov high on the glove side.

POWER PLAYS

The Islanders have been opportunistic with the man advantage in the playoffs, converting on 28% of their chances after going 0 for 1 in Game 6. During the season, New York was 20th in the league at 18.8%.

The Bruins scored in 21.9% of their chances during the season, and have upped that to 36.4% during the playoffs. after a 2-for-3 effort. They finished 7 for 14 during this series.

BRUINS INJURIES

The Bruins were without center Curtis Lazar and defensemen Brandon Carlo and Kevan Miller. Lazar was injured in the second period of Game 5 in a collision with the Islanders’ Adam Pelech. Jake DeBrush took Larzar’s place in the lineup. Carlo has been out since a hit from Cal Clutterbuck in Game 3. Miller, injured in the first round against Washington, wasn’t ready to return.