From Stanley Cup to World Cup, Vincent Lecavalier starred again.
Lecavalier, who helped lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to the NHL championship in June, scored 3:45 into overtime Saturday night to give Canada a 4-3 victory over the Czech Republic and send the host nation into the title game of the World Cup of Hockey.
"Scoring in overtime for your country to go to the finals is pretty high in my career for sure," said Lecavalier, who assisted on Ruslan Fedotenko's Stanley Cup-winning goal in Game 7 against Calgary.
The Canadians, who have reached the championship game in all seven Canada Cup/World Cup tournaments, will face Finland in Toronto on Tuesday.
Finland is the surprise opponent, having eliminated the US in St. Paul, Minnesota, in the other semifinal Friday night.
The final game might be the last NHL-style hockey that's played for a while as the league's collective bargaining agreement with the players' association expires the following day. The sides are far apart, and a lockout that threatens next season is expected to be imposed.
Canada's Roberto Luongo made 37 saves -- including all five in overtime -- in his first start of the tournament in place of the injured Martin Brodeur, who allowed only three goals on 100 shots in Canada's first four games.
Mario Lemieux, Kris Draper, and Eric Brewer also scored for Canada, which squandered two third-period leads.
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