Montreal, Quebec – The Montreal Canadiens got tough against Vegas Golden Knights to edge out the win in game three on Friday night.

The Canadiens won 3-2 in overtime against the Knights to take a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup semifinals. Montreal didn’t put up as much offensive pressure as Vegas did, but they did what they had to do to win when it counted.

Carey Price (33) put in a lot of work in the crease for the Canadiens, stopping 43 shots to give his team a fighting chance in the game. Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury literally gave Montreal a chance of their own with under two minutes remaining in the game, when he misplayed the puck right beside his own goal. Josh Anderson was right there to tap it into the open net to knot things up at 2-2, sending the game into overtime.

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Before that mishap, much of the game showed both teams’ strengths. Vegas stuck to their speed, which helped them bring an onslaught of offense in Price’s direction. For the game, the Knights outshot the Habs 45-27.

Montreal did have a tough time controlling the puck during the game, giving up open-ice possessions 25 times. But they made up for their slower offensive flow by sticking to their strong suit, which was always, hits, hits, and more hits – a total of 52 body checks to be exact.

The game was anyone’s once overtime started, but in the end, it belonged to the Canadiens when Anderson scored his second goal for the game-winner.

Vegas traded goals with Montreal back and forth in Game 3, getting scores from Nicolas Roy and Alex Pietrangelo. They were controlling the flow of the game late in the third, disrupting every push across the blue line from the Canadiens. The Knights needed to hold on just two more minutes to seal the win, but then came the fatal mishandle in their own zone.

Every mistake in these playoffs could cost the game for an unlucky team, and the Knights must be on-point in every aspect of the next game, or they could be one loss away from ending their season too soon.

Game 4 in the Stanley Cup semifinals is on Sunday night, from Montreal.