Boston Eliminates Montreal From NHL Playoffs
Bruins Sweep Series with Win in Montreal
The Bell Centre in Montreal erupted when Andrei Kostitsyn scored the game's opening goal thirty-nine seconds into the first period, hoping their Habs could prolong the first round series. Montreal outshot Boston 16-7 in the first period but found themselves behind 2-1 at the intermission. By the end of the night, the brooms were out in Montreal as the Bruins won the game 4-1 and swept the series against their long-time rivals.
Ryder Continues Great Play
Boston's Michael Ryder was one of the stars for the Bruins in this series, scoring four goals and assisting on three others to lead the team in scoring with 7 points. The former Hab continued to be a thorn in the side of his old team on his way to helping Boston win their first playoff series since a win over Carolina in 1999.
After scoring only 14 goals last season in Montreal and being a healthy scratch for several games in the playoffs, Ryder walked away as a free agent. Reunited with former coach Claude Julien in Boston this season, the Bonavista, Newfoundland native re-discovered his scoring touch and accumulated 53 points in 74 games; including 10 goals on the power play.
Komisarek and Canadiens Lose Focus
Missing their top two defensemen (Andrei Markov and Mathieu Schneider) and their top two off-season acquisitions (Robert Lang and Alex Tanguay), the Canadiens were outscored 17-6 in the series and out-muscled in their own end. Rugged defenseman Mike Komisarek dropped the gloves against Milan Lucic in the second period in the continuation of a season-long feud between the two. After a whistle early in the third period, Josh Georges fired a puck at Bruins forward Marc Savard that went unnoticed by the referees. Later in the third period, Komisarek took a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for his crosscheck to the face of Lucic. His season and that of the Canadiens was all but over.
Gainey Defends Carey Price
The Canadiens fans demonstrated their frustration at one point during the game by jeering Carey Price after a routine save on a Mark Recchi shot. Price responded by gesturing at the crowd, waving his arms in a similar fashion to Patrick Roy's last game in Montreal before his trade to Colorado.
In his post game press conference, Montreal General Manager and coach Bob Gainey was quick to defend his young net minder. "People were rude. People were unfair and so he stood up for himself. What's wrong with that?"
Boston Waits for Second Round Opponent
Boston becomes the first team in the Eastern Conference to move on to the second round and now wait for their next opponent. Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers could be next for the Bruins if New York continues to hold Alex Ovechkin off the score sheet.
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