Final, Canadiens 4-3: That’s all she wrote.
P.K. Subban blasted his second power-play goal of the game by Tuukka Rask seven seconds into the man-advantage, and the Canadiens win Game 1 by a score of 4-3.
Second overtime, 4:10, 3-3: The Canadiens are getting another power play. Matt Bartkowski was called for holding after taking down Dale Weise in front of the net.
Second overtime, 2:00, 3-3: The Bruins killed off the Daniel Paille penalty. Shortly after that expired, Tuukka Rask made his best save of the night, a pretty incredible glove save on Tomas Plekanec.
Second overtime, 0:01, 3-3: The second overtime is underway. The Bruins will have to kill off a minute and a half of Daniel Paille’s tripping penalty.
End first overtime, 3-3: The first overtime is over, and we’ll need at least another period to settle this one.
Overtime, 19:34, 3-3: The Bruins will now have to kill off a penalty. Daniel Paille caught Brendan Gallagher with a knee as Gallagher entered the zone, and Paille was given two for tripping.
Overtime, 17:55, 3-3: The Bruins are now at 50 shots on goal after their latest chance. A shot from the point got through to Carey Price, and he had no idea where it was. The puck was behind him in the crease, but no Bruin could get to the puck before the Canadiens cleared it out of trouble.
Overtime, 15:05, 3-3: Tuukka Rask is still awake at the other end. He just made an incredible save on Lars Eller after Eller gathered the puck off a carom from the end boards and quickly put the shot on net.
Overtime, 11:00, 3-3: Another tremendous Carey Price save, this one on David Krejci. Price has been amazing.
Overtime, 10:44, 3-3: The Bruins had a great chance to win it again, when Patrice Bergeron weaved around Canadiens players before dropping a backhanded pass for Brad Marchand. However, Marchand’s shot was stopped by Carey Price’s right leg pad, and we play on.
Overtime 9:37, 3-3: This is how close the Bruins came to winning the game.
Overtime, 7:45, 3-3: The Bruins came within inches of winning the game. Carl Soderberg was right in front to try and poke home a puck caroming off the end boards, but the puck trickled right across the goal line and out of the crease.
Overtime, 2:00, 3-3: The penalties to Brad Marchand and Lars Eller are complete, and the play is back to 5-on-5.
Overtime, 0:01, 3-3: Hold onto your butts; overtime is underway.
Third period reaction: Plenty to get into after that third period, but that will need to be saved for postgame stories.
What you do need to know, though, is that we’ll start the third with 4-on-4 action. Brad Marchand and Lars Eller picked up matching unsportsmanlike conduct penalties after the siren.
End third period, 3-3: The third period is over, and we’re going to overtime in Game 1. Because of course we are.
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Third period, 18:02, 3-3: Tie game, yet again.
Johnny Boychuk just hammered a slap shot from just inside the blue line, and Carey Price had zero chance of stopping it. That thing was hammered, and there was plenty of traffic in front of the net.
Third period, 17:44, Canadiens 3-2: The Bruins had a great chance just now on a Torey Krug slap shot from the point. Carey Price made the save, and David Krejci was on the doorstep for the rebound. However, the puck disappeared for a second and reappeared out of the mass of humans laying to Price’s right just outside the crease. The Bruins couldn’t grab the puck before it was iced.
Third period, 14:54, Canadiens 3-2: Johnny Boychuk just made a nice little play to carry the puck into the Montreal zone. He then just threw it at the net, and the puck bounced off the side of the cage to a waiting David Krejci, but Krejci’s shot hit Carey Price in the chest.
We’re heading into the final TV timeout with the Bruins still chasing a goal.
Third period, 12:09, Canadiens 3-2: Montreal has regained the lead.
The Canadiens had an incredible shift with chances abound, and they finally break through when the puck gets out to Francis Bouillon at the point. He beat Tuukka Rask over the goalie’s glove to give the Canadiens the lead back.
Third period, 10:11, 2-2: The Bruins are outshooting the Habs 6-2 in the third period, and Thomas Vanek has been stabled to the bench for the Canadiens.
Third period, 7:24, 2-2: Loui Eriksson just hit the crossbar. The Bruins are flying.
Third period, 6:30, 2-2: Tie hockey game.
Milan Lucic sprinted into the Montreal zone and hammered the brakes, then turned to his left and found Torey Krug coming down the left wing. Krug blasted a slap shot from the faceoff circle that beat Carey Price and tied the game.
Third period, 5:18, Canadiens 2-1: The Bruins couldn’t do anything with the power play, and the Canadiens are back to even strength.
Third period, 3:18, Canadiens 2-1: The Bruins are going back on the power play. The Boston fourth line — now featuring Justin Florek — was bowled over in front of the net by P.K. Subban who gets the interference penalty.
Third period, 2:44, Canadiens 2-1: The Bruins are on the board. As you might have guessed, it had to do with getting pressure in front.
Reilly Smith looked off the defense and then fired a shot from the right faceoff circle that somehow got through with Patrice Bergeron creating traffic in front.
Third period, 0:01, Canadiens 2-0: The third period is underway.
Second-period reaction: That was a frustrating period of hockey if you’re a Bruins fan. The B’s were able to generate the majority of the chances, and much of the period was played in the Montreal end. Yet the Bruins weren’t able to bury those chances, and they have nothing to show for all of that offensive zone time.
A big reason for that? Carey Price. The Canadiens goaltender has stood on his head, especially when he made a huge save on the Bruins’ lone power play thus far. Price went post to post to rob Jarome Iginla with a pad save, and Iginla’s second-chance attempt went wide. That entire power play produced plenty of chances for the Bruins, including Dougie Hamilton hitting the post. However, Price was up to the task, as he stopped everything the Bruins threw his way, which was six shots in the second period, three of them on the power play.
The Canadiens, to their credit, are taking full advantage of any sort of Bruins miscues. That manifested itself in the second period when Johnny Boychuk attempted to feed a pass across the neutral zone to Torey Krug. However, Krug couldn’t play the puck in his skate, and the puck eventually ended up in the back of the net via Rene Bourque.
End second period, Canadiens 2-0: A frustrating second period for the Bruins is history, and they trail 2-0 as they head to the room after two periods.
Boston is outshooting Montreal 22-17.
Second period, 16:42, Canadiens 2-0: The Bruins’ power play just came to an unsuccessful end, but boy did they have their chances.
The first came on a Jarome Iginla one-timer from the left faceoff circle that Carey Price made a remarkable pad save on. Iginla had a chance for the rebound, but he missed the net.
Toward the end of the power play, Dougie Hamilton beat Price with a shot from the right point, but the puck hit the nest and ricocheted into the corner.
Second period, 14:16, Canadiens 2-0: The Bruins finally got another chance in the last few seconds, as Justin Florek did a great job of crashing the net. He just missed a chance to redirect the pass from the wing.
After the play, Florek skated to the wing and eventually drew a penalty as Josh Gorges was called for holding. That means the Bruins are going on their first power play of the evening.
Second period, 9:00, Canadiens 2-0: The Bruins’ first line just had another good shift in terms of puck possession, but they weren’t able to get to the prime real estate. Much of the possession was held along the boards, where the Bruins tried like hell to cycle, but they couldn’t get to the slot or in front. A couple of shots were blocked, including Zdeno Chara’s blast from the point, and the Canadiens eventually were able to clear.
There’s been a lot of that going on so far for the Bruins. Despite holding a lot of possession, they’ve still looked a little disjointed offensively.
Second period, 3:38, Canadiens 2-0: The Bruins have dominated the second period, but the Canadiens now find themselves up 2-0.
Johnny Boychuk’s pass for Torey Krug in the neutral zone wasn’t great. The puck got caught in Krug’s skates, and Lars Eller grabbed the puck and passed it ahead to Rene Bourque, who walked in on Tuukka Rask and beat the goalie stick side.
Second period, 1:04, Canadiens 1-0: The Bruins just had arguably their best chance of the game. David Krejci was a late entry into the offensive zone, where he took a pass and got free in the slot with speed. He made a good move to get Carey Price down, but Krejci’s backhander went wide of the net to Price’s right.
Second period, 0:01, Canadiens 1-0: The second period is underway.
First-period reaction: The Bruins did just about all they could to set the tone in the first period, other than score. And it hurts, of course, that they gave up the game’s first goal.
That goal might be a source of controversy if this ends up being a one-goal Montreal win or something. That power-play tally came because of a questionable tripping call to Matt Bartkowski. It certainly didn’t look like much, but Dale Weise went spilling to the ice after getting tangled with the Boston D-man at the Montreal blue line. That’s not going to do much to refute the diving notion.
I’m going to guess that Tuukka Rask just didn’t see the puck that got by him on P.K. Subban’s power-play goal. Subban didn’t put a lot on it, but it made it through pretty easily. So it would seem that Rask was screened in front and never saw the puck, or at least saw it too late.
Other than that, though, it was a solid first period for the Bruins. They’re going to get chances against the Montreal defense, and it’s a matter of finishing those chances. If you’re looking for a line that might break through and get the Bruins’ first goal, the first line seems like a good bet. David Krejci and Co. put four shots on goal in the first. All of them, especially Krejci, are buzzing, which is a nice sign for the Bruins after that line was pretty quiet in the first round.
End first period, Canadiens 1-0: The final minutes of the first period featured a good chance for the Bruins, but they couldn’t quite convert. David Krejci carried the puck into the zone and swung to the left wing as he dropped it off for Milan Lucic. The big winger put the shot on net, but Carey Price made the shoulder save. Jarome Iginla came hard down the right wing looking for the rebound, but he might have overskated the puck just a bit and couldn’t get the rebound.
The Bruins ended up outshooting Montreal 13-10 in the first.
First period, 16:33, Canadiens 1-0: Carey Price has been tested early and often, and so far, he’s been up to the task. The Bruins are taking every chance they can to get a puck at or near the net, and Price has stopped all 12 Bruins shots he’s faced so far.
First period, 11:23, Canadiens 1-0: A big storyline of the series was whether the Bruins could stay out of the box in attempt to slow the Canadiens’ power play. Well, the Canadiens scored on their first power play.
Naturally, it’s P.K. Subban who does the honors, as the defenseman just netted the series’ first goal on a wrist shot through traffic from the right point that Tuukka Rask couldn’t stop.
First period, 10:05, 0-0: The Canadiens get the game’s first power play. Matt Bartkowski was called for tripping, apparently.
First period, 9:15, 0-0: Carey Price just made a huge glove save on Reilly Smith, assuming the puck was headed for the net. Smith got in on a 2-on-1 and found a way into the slot, where he ripped the shot.
First period, 6;00, 0-0: So far, at least, the Bruins are feeding off the home crowd. The Bruins don’t have a lot of shots on goal, but they have spent plenty of time in the Montreal end, where they have had a pretty decisive edge when it comes to puck possession.
Boston’s fourth line has been really good so far, with a couple of solid shifts that have produced scoring chances. The best came on the most recent shift when Gregory Campbell jumped on a puck in the slot, but he missed the net with his shot attempt. Carey Price also might have got a glove on it.
The teams are tied 3-3 in shots on goal, but the Bruins have tried eight shots to Montreal’s five.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: Game 1 and the series are underway in front of a rowdy TD Garden crowd.
7:30 p.m.: The Bruins officially have Daniel Paille back for the opener, and he’ll replace Jordan Caron on the fourth line. Everything else remains the same.
7:13 p.m.: Daniel Paille appears to be back in the Boston lineup for the first time since April 12. He’ll replace Jordan Caron, according to the pregame line rushes.
Here are the rest of the projected lines and defensive pairs for both clubs.
Bruins
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Justin Florek — Carl Soderberg — Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski — Johnny Boychuk
Torey Krug — Kevan Miller
Canadiens
Max Pacioretty — David Desharnais — Thomas Vanek
Brandon Prust — Tomas Plekanec — Brendan Gallagher
Rene Bourque — Lars Eller — Brian Gionta
Travis Moen — Danny Briere — Dale Weise
Josh Gorges — P.K. Subban
Andrei Markov — Alexei Emelin
Francis Boullon — Mike Weaver
7 p.m.: The Bruins and Canadiens have taken the ice for pregame warmups. Daniel Paille and Brad Marchand are both on the ice for the B’s, and I would expect both of them to be in the lineup for Boston in Game 1.
12:27 p.m.: Montreal head coach Michel Therrien is done at the podium, and he said that Max Pacioretty opted not to participate in the morning skate. So there’s that.
12:23 p.m.: The Canadiens also have wrapped up their morning skate, and they’re fielding the last of the questions from a huge gathering of media from both Boston and Montreal.
One of the biggest storylines leading up to this series is how discipline will play a role. The continuing narrative is that the Bruins sometimes let the Habs get in their heads, which leads Boston to take penalties. That, in turn, allows the Canadiens to go on the power play, where they’ve had success against the Bruins in past years.
One major focal point for the Bruins will be to continue to play tough hockey, but smart hockey, too.
“I think discipline will be a key word,” Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said. “In the playoffs, it always is, but even more so in this series. I think they have a great power play. They’re a fast team, and we have to move our feet and keep up with that, and we don’t get caught taking too many penalties.”
The Bruins’ special teams have been fantastic for much of the season and into the playoffs. Yet there’s no doubting Boston would rather play 5-on-5 and take their chances there, as the Bruins were the best even-strength teams in the NHL this season. The Habs, meanwhile, were 16th in 5-on-5 play and generated about 23 percent of their offense on the man-advantage.
“We’ve done it a few times before, but it’s about just staying composed and disciplined and go from there,” Bergeron added. “I think it’s really the key right now, and special teams are always important this time of year. If we’re able to avoid it and play 5-on-5, it will be better for us.”
But, as Canadiens forward Daniel Briere pointed out, “both teams are going to cross (the line).” How each deal with that and what comes after will be a huge key to this series.
11:40 a.m.: The Canadiens do not have Max Pacioretty on the ice for morning skate, which is an interesting development, to say the least. Then again, it could be nothing. Hopefully we’ll have some sort of update from Montreal coach Michel Therrien after the skate, but I’m not counting on it.
11:30 a.m.: The Canadiens are just hitting the ice for morning skate, and the Bruins have wrapped up their skate and all media availability.
The Bruins were without Brad Marchand at morning skate, and he was replaced on the Patrice Bergeron line by Daniel Paille. According to head coach Claude Julien, Marchand “took his option,” which is why he wasn’t on the ice for the practice. Marchand missed practice Tuesday, but he was back on the ice Wednesday. It’s unclear if Marchand is dealing with any sort of an injury, but he also could be dealing with some sort of sickness.
Paille has been cleared to return, but we apparently won’t know until later tonight if he’ll be in the lineup. Julien called Paille’s status a game-time decision.
That’s about all Julien would say, as he wasn’t really in the talking mood. He’s in playoff mode.
10:30 a.m.: It doesn’t get much better than this.
The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens will take the ice Thursday night at TD Garden for Game 1 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series. When they do, it will mark the 34th time in NHL history that the longtime rivals have met in the postseason.
It’s expected to be an emotionally charged series, as is the case when these bitter adversaries get together. Both teams believe they have something to prove. The Canadiens are, on paper, the underdogs against a Bruins team that won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s best team in the regular season. But the Habs had the Bruins’ number during the regular season, taking three of the four meetings between the Atlantic Division teams.
Thursday night’s matchup also marks the second time in the last three years that the Bruins and Habs have met in the playoffs. Despite losing the first two in home in 2011, the Bruins were able to storm back and defeat Montreal in seven games during the first round. That series concluded with a Nathan Horton game-winning goal in overtime in Game 7 on Boston’s way to winning the Stanley Cup.
Puck drop on Thursday night is set for 7:30.
