It was Horton's second overtime winner in his first playoff series as a pro.
The Bruins, who won their first Game 7 in four tries over the last four years, now move on to play Philadelphia in the second round. The Flyers handed Boston its most devastating Game 7 loss last year in the second round when the Bruins couldn't close out Philadelphia after building a 3-0 lead in the series and a 3-0 lead in Game 7. Game 1 of this year's rematch will be Saturday at 3 p.m. in Philadelphia.
Overtime, 4:24, 3-3: Lots of action early in overtime, especially in the Bruins end, where Thomas has been busy keeping this game going.
Overtime, 0:54, 3-3: Thomas is tested for the first time in overtime as a shot is deflected in front, forcing him to make a quick pad save.
Overtime, 0:00, 3-3: And the first overtime is under way here at the Garden. The next goal wins the series and sends one of these two teams home for the summer.
Third Intermission Notes: For the third time in this series, it will take sudden death overtime to determine a winner.
If the extra session stays at even strength, the Bruins have a good chance to survive and move on. They have three goals at even strength in this one, while Montreal has yet to get an even-strength tally. But the Habs do have two power-play goals and one shorthanded. The Bruins can't afford any more penalties. They don't necessarily want any Montreal penalties either, as Boston is 0-for-2 on the power play in this game and 0-for-21 in the series.
The Bruins do have a 34-20 edge in hits and are 37-29 on faceoffs (56 percent). Andrew Ference has two assists and is plus-3 in 20:53, while Zdeno Chara has come up big with three shots and five hits in a team-high 26:08. Milan Lucic has three shots and four hits in 19:20 after being ejected in Game 6 and Rich Peverley has played a strong all-around game with an assist, a shot, a takeaway, a blocked shot and a 5-3 record on faceoffs in 18:05.
End Regulation, 3-3: Sixty minutes won't be enough to settle this one, as Game 7 will be decided in sudden-death overtime after Montreal rallied to tie it again on a late power-play strike.
Third Period, 18:03, 3-3: The Habs tie it on the late power play, with P.K. Subban ripping in a one-timer from the left point.
Third Period, 17:23, Bruins 3-2: This one isn't going to be easy, as the Habs get another power play with Bergeron off for high-sticking Wisniewski.
Third Period, 15:49, Bruins 3-2: Recchi is robbed by a Price glove save. These missed opportunities could come back to haunt the Bruins, but it is good to see them continue to attack and create chances rather than trying to just sit on the one-goal lead.
Third Period, 13:35, Bruins 3-2: Thomas comes up with two game-saving stops, as he denies Cammalleri from the right circle and Plekanec in front with some help from McQuaid.
Third Period, 13:20, Bruins 3-2: Claude Julien uses his timeout with the Bruins facing a key draw in their own zone.
Third Period, 12:10, Bruins 3-2: Kelly nearly adds another with a breakaway chance down the left side, but the puck goes up and over the net off Price. Bergeron is then denied with a shot from the slot.
Third Period, 9:44, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins have the lead again, thanks to a play for the ages by Chris Kelly.
Kelly bowled over Roman Hamrlik at the blue line, and while Hamrlik stayed down, the Bruins had an odd-numbered entry into the zone. Andrew Ference fired it in from the left point as Kelly drove the net, and Kelly slipped the rebound under Price at the right post.
Third Period, 8:30, 2-2: Play is stopped with Jeff Halpern hurt behind the play. The Garden crowd is not happy as the Bruins had possession of the puck in the Montreal end when the whistle was blown. Halpern heads to the locker room after slowly coming off the ice.
Third Period, 6:14, 2-2: The Bruins have had the better of the chances so far in the third, but it remains tied. Peverley made a nice rush down the right wing and centered it out front to Ryder, but Price smothered the puck.
Third Period, 3:32, 2-2: The Bruins nearly get the go-ahead goal as Adam McQuaid fires in a blast from the right point and Mark Recchi tries to stuff in the rebound at the left post, but Price keeps it out.
Third Period, 2:20, 2-2: Chara has teed up a couple of big shots early in the third as the captain gets more involved in the offense looking for the go-ahead goal.
Third Period, 0:00, 2-2: The third period is under way here at the Garden. Barring overtime, it will be the final frame for one of these teams. The Bruins have 12 seconds left to kill on Boychuk's penalty to start this period.
Brick Breaks Down the Game: Spent a few minutes with NESN analyst Andy Brickley to go over what we've seen so far and what the Bruins need to doto prevent this third period from being their last period of the season.
Here's Brick's breakdown:
"Discipline, it's an obvious catch phrase, but that's been the issue again," Bickley said. "The call goes against Ryder, Paille loses his stick and Weber makes a nice shot and that gets them right back in the game. The power play continues to struggle, and they tried that drop pass [by Seidenberg to Recchi] that leas to a shorthanded goal. That hurts the psyche of the team. It's hard to get momentum of the game back when things like that go against you.
"Those long passes and the quick transition game [by Montreal] is putting them on their heels. The center-zone play is not what it needs to be.
It's corny but I'll say it, it's about the will to win. For this core group, this is Game 7 for the fourth time. This is your reputation right here. If you can't get the job done in Game 7, that is going to be your stigma. This is an excellent opportunity to show that this is a progression here. That there is a development here.
"It's right in front of them. Seize it. Play to win. Don't play not to lose. Don't play scared. Don't play tentative."
End Second Period, 2-2: After 40 minutes, this one is all even. The season will come down to the final 20 minutes of this one, and possibly more if it goes to overtime.
Second Period, 18:12, 2-2: The Bruins have a huge penalty to kill as Johnny Boychuk is called for boarding on a hit that drove Halpern into the stanchion at the end of the Montreal bench.
Second Period, 17:10, 2-2: The Habs fans at the Garden get a brief "Ole, Ole,Ole" chant going before the boos drown it out.
Second Period, 14:34, 2-2: Jeff Halpern gets behind the defense and is in alone on Thomas, but Thomas comes up with the huge stop to keep this one tied.
Second Period, 12:50, 2-2: Lots of back and forth action, but neither tem has been able to break through with the go-ahead goal here in the second.
Second Period, 8:30, 2-2: Some shades of Glen Wesley as David Krejci sails a backhander high over the crossbar of an open net behind Price as Krejci had a chance from the left slot off a feed from Nathan Horton.
Second Period, 8:06, 2-2: The Bruins' sloppy play continues as a Michael Ryder giveaway in the Bruins zone leads to another chance for Montreal, which eventually has a shot deflected into the netting to stop play.
Second Period, 5:50, 2-2: The Bruins' lead is gone, as the power play no longer just fails to score, it now facilitates the other teams' chances to score.
A Mark Recchi giveaway in the neutral zone gives Tomas Plekanec a breakaway, and he buries the shot for a shorthanded tally.
Second Period, 4:41, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins will get another chance to do something on the power play, as Lars Eller is called for cross-checking.
Second Period, 3:45, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins survive an early surge by the Canadien, who were all over the Bruins for a couple of shifts.
Second Period, 0:22, Bruins 2-1: Thomas with a huge early stop, robbing Brian Gionta with a pad save on a bid from the top of the left crease.
Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 2-1: The middle frame is under way here at the Garden, with the Bruins looking to build off their strong start in the early going of the first and build upon their one-goal lead.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins got the start they needed, but struggled to sustain it as the Habs did a good job of regrouping after falling behind early.
The Bruins fired eight shots on Carey Price in the first 6:05 of play, scoring on two of them for a quick 2-0 lead. But they didn't put another shot on him until Milan Lucic's tip in front at 19:37, a span of 13:32. Montreal, meanwhile, had six shots, including one that got past Tim Thomas as Yannick Weber made it 2-1 with a power-play strike.
Penalties are again the story in this one, with a couple of questionable calls going against the Bruins and at least one even more questionable non-call on P.K. Subban, who made a blatant dive trying to draw a call on Gregory Campbell. In the process, Subban knocked Campbell's stick out of his grasp, but no penalties were called on Subban.
The Bruins have been the more physical team, leading 15-7 in hits. They have to continue that style but manage to stay out of the box, as Montreal is dangerous on special teams but not nearly as effective as Boston at even strength. The Bruins failed to convert their only power-play chance and are now 0 for 20 in the series, but they did look better in that opportunity with good movement and a couple decent chances.
End First Period, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins remain without a power-play goal this series, though they did a better job of creating some chances on that opportunity and head into the first intermission with a one-goal lead.
First Period, 17:59, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins finally get a call as Andrei Kostitsyn is sent off for high-sticking. It's 4 on 4 for three seconds, then a Bruins power play. That came after P.K. Subban got away with a blatant dive on a hit from Campbell, knocking Campbell's stick out of his hands as he dove.
First Period, 16:02, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins are shorthanded again, and again it's on a questionable call with Shawn Thornton sent off for elbowing White behind the net.
First Period, 14:52, Bruins 2-1: Marchand and Ryan White get mixed up behind the play, leading to Greg Campbell to have some words with White after the whistle.
The Bruins have been stuck on eight shots for nearly 10 minutes, with Montreal getting the last six shots on goal to turn an 8-3 deficit into a 9-8 lead in that category.
First Period, 11:15, Bruins 2-1: Thomas with a pair of big saves on Michael Cammalleri, first a toe save on a shot from the slot, then flashing the leather to snare a shot from the right boards as Scott Gomez crashed the crease.
First Period, 9:49, Bruins 2-1: The Habs make the Bruins pay for a penalty again, cutting the deficit in half as Yannick Weber scores.
Weber cut in from the right point for the backdoor feed and fired in a shot from the right circle. Daniel Paille had lost his stick earlier in the play, hampering Boston's shorthanded effort.
First Period, 8:22, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins will have to kill off the game's first penalty as Michael Ryder is sent off for hooking Tomas Plekanec.
Questionable call there as it appeared Plekanec went down more because Ryder had leverage on him as they went into the corner more than any illegal stickwork on Ryder's part.
First Period, 5:33, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins add another quick one, with Mark Recchi scoring from the high slot to double the early lead.
Recchi passed it over to Andrew Ference, who initially lost control of the puck, but tracked it down and chipped it back to Recchi. Recchi then fired in a high wrister for the goal. Montreal uses its timeout after the goal, with Price having given up two goals on seven shots.
First Period, 3:31, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins get the next one past Price, with Johnny Boychuk firing a shot in from the right point through a screen in front.
Brad Marchand set up the play, coming out from behind the net and feeding the puck to Boychuk at the point.
First Period, 3:17, 0-0: Good jump for all four lines to start this one. After a strong shift by the fourth line, Mark Recchi sets up Bergeron for a bid from the right circle, but Price makes the save.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: Rene Rancourt has belted out both anthems and this one is under way at the Garden. It will be the final game of the season for somebody. Is this the year the Bruins finally break through and win a Game 7?
7 p.m.: The Bruins will open this game as they have most of their games, with Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi getting the start up front. Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk will start on defense, with Tim Thomas in goal.
The Canadiens counter with Travis Moen, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta up front, James Wisniewski and Roman Hamrlik on the blue line and Carey Price in net.
6:55 p.m.: The Bruins have indeed scratched Tyler Seguin and Shane Hnidy once again. They'll use the same lineup they've been going with all series with the exception of Game 2, when Hnidy filled in for Zdeno Chara, who was sidelined with dehydration.
The Habs have scratched Paul Mara, David Desharnais, Benoit Pouliot and Alexandre Picard. James Wisniewski is back after missing Game 6 with an undisclosed injury.
6:45 p.m.: There were no changes in the Bruins lines in warm-ups for Game 7. Tyler Seguin and Shane Hnidy skated as they have all series, but did not take part in the line drills.
Here's how the combinations look based on warm-ups:
Lucic-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Bergeron-Recchi
Kelly-Peverley-Ryder
Paille-Campbell-Thornton
Defense pairs:
Chara-Seidenberg
Kaberle-McQuaid
Ference-Boychuk
6:40 p.m.: Injured defenseman James Wisniewski is on the ice for the Habs in warmups, but he also took warmups for Game 6 and did not play on Tuesday.
Paul Mara, who filled in for Wisniewski, and Yannick Weber are out there. Injured forward David Desharnais and Benoit Pouliot, who has been a healthy scratch the last three games, are not skating in the warm-up.
6:30 p.m.: Tim Thomas and Carey Price lead the clubs onto the ice for warm-ups.
That's the goalie matchup for Game 7 as it has been for every game in this series.
6 p.m.: For the fourth straight year, the Bruins' seasons rests on a Game 7 showdown.
They've lost in each of the past three seasons in this point, but the Bruins hope the lessons they learned the hard way in Game 7 defeats to Montreal in 2008, Carolina in 2009 and Philadelphia in 2010 will help them to get past the Canadiens and extend their 2011 season.
They'll get that chance in just about an hour, when Game 7 opens here at the Garden.
Boston isn't expected to make any lineup changes. Milan Lucic won't face further discipline for the boarding major that got him ejected from Game 6 and Claude Julien stated he doesn't intend to make any other changes.
8 a.m.: The Bruins couldn't close out the series in Game 6 in Montreal on Tuesday.
Now they'll have one final chance while facing elimination themselves in Game 7 back in Boston on Wednesday.
"We just have to score a couple more goals and not take as many penalties," said Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who scored Boston's only goal on Tuesday. "I think we'll be fine. Like every game this series, I think [Game 7] will be a hard-fought battle, lots of puck battles along the walls and lots of cycling down low. But again, we'll take the positive from [Tuesday] and look forward to [Wednesday]."
The Bruins were their own worst enemy in Game 6, committing seven penalties that led to a pair of Montreal power-play goals in the Canadiens' 2-1 victory. Both of those goals came on 5-on-3 advantages, as the Bruins' lack of discipline gave Montreal two extended opportunities to work with two extra men on the ice.
When the sides were even, or even when Montreal had just one extra skater on the ice, the Bruins controlled play for the most part. But the Canadiens were able to take advantage of the Bruins' penalty problems.
That's something Boston hasn't been able to do all series. The Bruins were 0-for-4 on the man advantage on Tuesday and are now 0-for-19 for the series.
"It's always the same," Seidenberg said. "You want to use the man advantage and try to score. They did and we didn't."
The Bruins won't have long to wait for a chance at redemption. The odd scheduling of the series that put extra days between Games 3 and 4 and Games 5 and 6 because of conflicts with concerts at the Bell Centre now has Game 7 starting less than 24 hours after Montreal held on for Tuesday's one-goal win in Montreal.
The Bruins outshot Montreal 32-27 in Game 6, including an 11-6 advantage in the third period. But they couldn't net the equalizer. Still, the Bruins will try to build off that strong finish when they return home on Wednesday with their season on the line.
"It's Game 7," Bruins center David Krejci said. "I think we played real well in the third period [Tuesday], so we need to keep the positive things from this game and try to carry them on to [Wednesday]."
Game 7's haven't been kind to the Bruins in the recent past. Each of the last three seasons ended with Game 7 losses, including the last two years at home against Carolina and Philadelphia, respectively. They also lost at Montreal in Game 7 back in 2008. Their last playoff series before that also ended in a seventh game defeat at the hands of the Canadiens in 2004, that one on home ice. Overall, the Bruins are just 2-5 in Game 7's against Montreal.
The puck drops at 7 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action from the Garden.
