May 1, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Montreal Canadiens left wing Rene Bourque (17) reacts to a goal scored on Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask (40) during the third period in game one of the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Carey Price was the difference for the Montreal Canadiens in game 1 of their second round playoff series against the Boston Bruins. The goalie that was snubbed for a nomination for the Vezina Trophy out-dueled his counterpart in the Bruins crease who did get the nod, at least for one night.
P.K. Subban opened and closed the scoring with power play goals, but in between it was all Price as the Montreal Canadiens goalie made 48 saves, many of them in spectacular fashion, to steal home ice advantage from the Bruins.
Subban scored in the first period on a quick wrist shot from the point that got past Tuukka Rask through traffic, which would be a trend on the evening. Rene Bourque finished a 2-on-1 early in the second period, a lead that they took into the locker room after 40 minutes.
Boston brought the heat and a relentless forecheck in the third, and for the most part it worked as they kept the Habs on their heels. Reilly Smith got them on the board with a wrist shot from the hash marks at the side boards through a maze of bodies and over Price before the third was 3 minutes old, and then Torey Krug‘s point blast less than 4 minutes later tied it up.
Francis Boullion scored on one of just 6 Montreal Canadiens shots in the third to re-take the lead, jumping in and firing a pass from Brian Gionta top shelf on Rask.
Johnny Boychuk‘ s point blast, you guessed it, through traffic, with less than 2 minutes remaining to force extra time.
The Bruins dominated the first overtime, outshooting the Montreal Canadiens 14-6 for the second straight period, but it was a late penalty to Daniel Paille that would carry over to the second OT period that was the beginning of the end for the Bruins.
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They killed that Paille penalty off, but were on their heels and shortly after that Matt Bartkowski hauled down Dale Weise near the goal crease, giving the Habs their second straight power play. A lost faceoff by Patrice Bergeron was tapped to the point by Daniel Briere, and Andrei Markov passed cross-point to Suban who wired it home, once again through a screen for the game winner.
The Canadiens were outplayed, outhit and outchanced, but the win is squarely on the shoulders of Price and PK on the PP. The Bruins also lost game 1 against the Red Wings in the first round, and came back to win 4 straight.
Game 2 goes Saturday afternoon, an early (12:30 pm) start.