"This is not how the Penguins usually expect to score goals.

Or even how they want to most of the time, for that matter.

After all, that is why they keep high-priced talent such as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the payroll.

But Montreal has made a point of sealing off the area around its net during its second-round playoff series against the Penguins, which means Penguins forwards rarely have had room to breathe, let alone get off an uncontested shot on goal.

The antidote -- or, more to the point, the only recourse -- to the Canadiens' strategy is to attack from the outside, and the Penguins did that well in their 2-1 victory Saturday night at Mellon Arena in Game 5.

Defensemen Kris Letang and Sergei Gonchar got their goals, both on long-distance shots that found their way through screens and eluded Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak.

"They've really jammed in the slot, so it's tough to get our shots through," Letang said. "But we found a way tonight."

The Penguins lead the series, 3-2, and will have a chance to secure a berth in the Eastern Conference final for the third year in a row if they can beat the Canadiens in Game 6 at 7:15 p.m. Monday at the Bell Centre.

Whether Montreal will have defenseman Hal Gill, who has hounded Crosby in the series, remains to be seen. He left Game 5 with an unspecified injury, and Canadiens coach Jacques Martin said his condition will be re-evaluated today.

Game 7, if necessary, will be Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. at Mellon Arena.

The chances of a seventh game being required willconsiderably if Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury can replicate his Game 5 performance Monday.

He lost his shutout with 29.7 seconds left in regulation, when Mike Cammalleri scored on a shot that squirted between Fleury's legs, but still finished with 32 saves."