It has been 28 years since the Montreal Canadiens made the Stanley Cup Finals. Now, they are just one win away from facing the winner of the Lightning-Islanders series. The Canadiens have a long and successful history. Montreal has 34 Stanley Cup Finals appearances and is on the verge of their 35th appearance.

On Tuesday night, the Habs stunned the Vegas Golden Knights on the road with a 4-1 win to take a commanding 3-2 series lead. Goaltender Carey Price made 26 saves to prevent the Knights’ offense from gaining momentum.

“You know, it’s the oldest cliché in hockey, but the fourth one’s going to be the hardest, and we’re fortunate to have the opportunity at home, and we’ll be ready to go in Game 6,” said Eric Staal, whose second-period goal held up as the game-winner.

The Canadiens rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the first round against the Toronto Maple Leafs and swept the Winnipeg Jets in the second round. Montreal has an opportunity to close the series out at home on Thursday night.

“I think that’s what our mindset has been this whole playoff, is getting to do what we do, regardless of what happens,” Staal said. “I don’t think we change much. We do what we do every single shift, every moment we have, every opportunity we have to try and be difference makers for our team.”

The theme remained the same for Vegas, as they continued to struggle to get past Montreal’s suffocating defense. Max Pacioretty was the lone scorer for the Golden Knights in Tuesday’s loss. Vegas can’t seem to find the offense that got them this far. Montreal has done a tremendous job limiting space and controlling the neutral zone. The Golden Knights did have 56 shot attempts, though 12 missed the target and 17 were blocked.

Marc-Andre Fleury, the league’s active leader in playoff wins (90) and games played (162), only made 22 stops in front of the Vegas home crowd of 17,969. The loss was a shock because the Golden Knights had a regular-season home record of 21-5-2.

“You can point to a lot of things, we just weren’t sharp in our execution, in our decisions and it cost us,” Golden Knights coach Peter DeBoer said. “We’ve got to find a way. You’ve got to find a way this time of year against the good teams, and pressure, and tension, against a good goalie. Those are the teams that end up standing at the end of the day.”

Game 6 will take place in Montreal on Thursday night.

On Thursday, just a few hours before his return to Raleigh, North Carolina, former Carolina Hurricanes captain Eric Staal wrote a letter in The Players’ Tribune thanking his former teammates and Hurricanes fans.

Eric Staal Pens Players’ Tribune Letter Thanking Former Teammates, Fans

Staal, 31, was traded from the Hurricanes to the New York Rangers at the trade deadline on Feb. 29. He said that the most difficult part of leaving the Hurricanes, other than saying goodbye to his teammates and younger brother Jordan Staal, was watching his former teammates preparing for a game that night.

“For more than a decade, there weren’t that many Canes games that I hadn’t been a part of,” the Canadian captain and centerman wrote. “It was odd to be watching everybody – the players, the trainers, event the front office – getting into their routine while I was packing up.

“It really hit me hard at that moment just how much I was going to miss everything. Bu I also saw that life goes on.”

Staal spent his first 13 years in the NHL with the Hurricanes. He became the team’s second all-time leading scorer, racking up 322 goals and 775 points in 909 career games.

He won his first in 2006 with the Hurricanes and also won the Olympic gold medal for Canada at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

Staal singled out several former teammates, including current Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis and goaltender Cam Ward, the only Carolina player remaining in Raleigh from that Stanley Cup winning season. He also mentioned his other younger brother, defenseman Marc Staal, who is now his teammate on the Rangers.

“We’re just the kids of a couple of sod farmers who love hockey,” Staal wrote in the letter. “Playing in this league is an incredible special honour. But being able to do it with the people closest to you is something else entirely. I’ll always be thankful for that opportunity.”

The Hurricanes (34-28-16) defeated the Rangers (43-25-9) 4-3 at home on Thursday night.

Caption:CHICAGO, IL – DECEMBER 27: Eric Staal #12 of the Carolina Hurricanes controls the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on December 27, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. The Hurricanes defeated the Blackhawks 2-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

New York Rangers Centre Eric Staal, who was acquired by the team from the Carolina Hurricanes on the trade deadline of February 28, 2016, has not been very productive for the Rangers since then, but he nevertheless managed to score a big opening goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night.

Rangers’ Eric Staal Finishes Off Great Play With One-Handed Goal

In the first period, Jesper Fast chipped the puck up to Staal, who knocked it down and quickly found Kevin Hayes with room to skate. Hayes raced down the left sideline and sent a pass to center ice to connect with Staal, who had just enough of a step on Pittsburgh defenseman Trevor Daley that he was able to get out in front, fend off Daley with one arm and and with just one hand on his stick, one-timed it under Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury‘s arm and into the net to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead just 4:19 into the game.

The goal was Staal’s 12th of the season, though just his second in 13 games with the Rangers so far. After three weeks of no scoring, the former Hurricanes captain delivered a spectacular goal.

Staal scored another goal in the second period, but the Rangers (43-24-9) eventually lost to the Penguins (42-25-8) 3-2 in overtime at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers will next visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, while the Penguins will host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.

Caption: CHICAGO, IL – DECEMBER 27: Eric Staal #12 of the Carolina Hurricanes controls the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on December 27, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. The Hurricanes defeated the Blackhawks 2-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The New York Rangers have acquired veteran Canadian center Eric Staal from the Carolina Hurricanes, the team announced Sunday.

Rangers Trade Picks, Get Eric Staal

In return, the Hurricanes get a second-round pick in 2016 and 2017, as well as Finnish prospect Aleksi Saarela, who was the Rangers’ third-round pick in last year’s draft.

Staal was forced to waive his no-move clause in order to accept the deal. The Carolina captain has spent his entire 12-year NHL career with the Hurricanes and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, once the last year of his seven-year, $55.75 million contract expires.

“As much as I think they’re doing the right thing with the young players — there’s some great pieces there for the future — I think deep, deep in my gut this was an opportunity I needed to take,” Staal said Monday, just hours before his debut with the Rangers versus the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton stated the Hurricanes retained part of Staal’s $8.25 million cap hit, and that the Rangers have enough financial flexibility to add another “small-salary player if we wanted to.”

The deal was finalized about an hour before the Hurricanes hosted the St. Louis Blues and just one day before the NHL trading deadline.

The Rangers are currently 16 points behind the first-place Washington Capitals in the Metropolitan Division standings. The Hurricanes have lost five of their last seven games, including Sunday’s 5-2 home loss to the Blues.

The trade leaves goalie Cam Ward as the only Hurricane remaining from any of the club’s playoff teams.

“Eric has been the face of this franchise for a long time, and we thank him for his dedication, leadership and many contributions,” Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis said. “We felt this was an important opportunity for us to continue our work in building an organization that can consistently compete in the Stanley Cup playoffs.”

Staal, 31, will be united with his younger brother Marc Staal, a defenseman for the Rangers, and will leave his other younger brother, Jordan Staal, who will take his place as captain for the Hurricanes.

Eric Staal counts 30-plus scored goals five times in his career. The four-time All-Star also has 10 goals and 23 assists in 63 games this season.

Staal is the Hurricanes’ career leader in nearly every category, including 909 games played, 332 goals and 775 points.

Saarela currently plays for Assat Pori of the Finnish elite league. The 19-year-old leads the team with 18 goals.

Caption:CHICAGO, IL – DECEMBER 27: Eric Staal #12 of the Carolina Hurricanes controls the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on December 27, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois. The Hurricanes defeated the Blackhawks 2-1. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)