TAMPA, Florida — Nikita Kucherov scored two goals and set up another as the Tampa Bay Lightning advanced to the NHL Eastern Conference finals with a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Steven Stamkos scored his third goal of the playoffs for the Lightning, who closed out the second-round series in six games after Montreal fought off elimination in Games 4 and 5. “This was our Game 7 tonight,” Stamkos said. “This is the biggest game of the playoffs for us and we responded.” Kucherov finished with six goals in the series. Ondrej Palat also had a goal and assist for Tampa Bay, which played without forward Ryan Callahan, who had an emergency appendectomy Monday night. Ben Bishop stopped 18 shots to outperform Carey Price, who finished with 24 saves. The Lightning, who won nine of 11 meetings against the Canadians this season including playoffs, will face either the New York Rangers or Washington Capitals in the conference finals. Those teams meet in Game 7 of their second-round series on Wednesday night. Price, a leading candidate for league MVP, played well in helping the Canadiens climb back in the series after losing the first two games at home and watching Game 3 slip away in the closing seconds for a 3-0 deficit. The Montreal star stopped several shots from point-blank range — but Bishop was better for Tampa Bay. Montreal's loss means the last of five Canadian-based teams that reached the postseason is eliminated from the playoffs. A Canadian-based team hasn't won the Cup since the Canadiens did it in 1993. Belarus in quarters In Prague, Belarus secured the last spot in the quarterfinals of the Ice Hockey World Championship by beating Norway 3-2 Tuesday, while the United States beat Slovakia in overtime and Canada thrashed Austria in their final group games. Belarus will face Canada in the next round. Jack Eichel scored on a wrist shot with 28 seconds left in overtime to give the US a 5-4 victory over Slovakia. The result means the young US team will meet Switzerland in the quarterfinals. In a repeat of last year's final and a matchup for second place in Group B, Finland downed defending champion Russia 3-2 after a penalty shootout. Finland will play host nation the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, while Russia takes on Sweden. The Canadians wrapped up the group stage by routing Austria 10-1. In its final game, the Czech Republic edged Switzerland 2-1 after a penalty shootout with Michal Vondrka scoring the winner. All four quarterfinals games are scheduled for Thursday. — Agencies
