Game 1 Thriller: B’s Fall To Montreal 4-3 In Double OT
Friday, May 02, 2014
Perhaps it's appropriate that game 1 of this much-anticipated series between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens went to overtime Thursday night. Two of them!
For a while, it didn't appear that overtime was an option for Boston which started the game off in an eerily similar fashion to game 4 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal round series against Detroit.
Exactly one week after the B’s spotted the Red Wings a 2-0 lead in Detroit, a game they came back to win 3-2 in overtime.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTPlaying their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series-opener at home against Montreal, the B’s also spotted the Canadiens an early 2-0 lead on goals by PK Subban in the first and Rene Bourque in the second.
Not to worry.
Down by two after two, the Bruins came out of the locker room and played like their hair was on fire.
Just 2:44 into the third, Reilly Smith finally beat Carey Price to put Boston on the board bringing the Garden crowd back to life.
Less than four minutes later, second-year sensation Torey Krug found the back of the net from the top of the left circle tying the game at two while blowing the roof off the building.
For the diminutive Krug, it was his second goal this postseason and his 6th of the playoffs since bursting onto the scene for Boston in the playoffs a year ago.
Boston kept the pressure on Montreal in relentless fashion throughout the period, but Montreal answered with a flurry in the Boston zone. It resulted in a goal by Habs defenseman Francis Bouillon putting the Canadiens back on top 3-2.
Again, the Bruins just wouldn't quit.
The B's continued to dominate play in the third period and it paid off when Johnny Boychuck rifled a slapshot high glove-side by Price with just under two minutes to play tying the game 3-3. He was set up by Brad Marchand and Louis Eriksson after Carl Soderberg did a great job of winning the faceoff in the Montreal zone.
It was Boston's third goal of the third period and it sent game one into sudden death overtime.
In overtime, Boston absolutely dominated play as they did in the third. But, despite peppering Price with 14 shots in the first extra frame, they couldn't finish. Then, at the tail end of the first overtime, Daniel Paille got called for tripping Brendan Gallagher causing Boston to play shorthanded at the end of the first overtime and the beginning of the second overtime.
After killing off the rare OT penalty, Boston was whistled again for a penalty when Matt Barkowski got called for holding against Dale Weise. Boston couldn't hold this time.
Montreal won the draw in the Boston zone and Subban lit the lamp for the second time on the night for the game-winner and the 4-3 victory for Montreal. The Canadiens now hold a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
NOTES:
-In the previous 33 playoff series between the Bruins and Canadiens, the game one winner has taken the series 27 times.
-The last time these two teams met in the postseason, Boston eliminated Montreal in 7 games on their way to winning the Stanley Cup in 2011.
-Both teams returned to the ice after lengthy layoffs. The Bruins hadn't played a game in 5 days while Montreal had been idle for 9 days.
-Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask followed up a spectacular showing against the Red Wings in the opening series with an extremely mediocre performance in the opener against Montreal. Rask stopped 20 of the 23 shots he faced in regulation and gave up a couple of relatively soft goals.
-Montreal goaltender Carey Price actually played better than Rask but was under siege by Boston, particularly in the third period. With the loss, Price is now 18-8-3 lifetime against the Boston Bruins.
-Boston outshot Montreal in every period and 36-23 in regulation including 14-6 in a dominant third period. Boston also outshot Montreal 14-6 in the first overtime for a dominant total of 28-12 over the course of the third period and overtime. For the game it was 51-33 in favor of Boston.
-Much like they do every time Montreal visits the TD Garden, Bruins fans booed Montreal defenseman PK Subban everytime he touched the puck. Subban had the last laugh scoring twice including the game-winner.
-Special teams update: Montreal went 2-3 on the power play while the Bruins went 0-2. Big advantage to Montreal.
-Game 2 of the series will be played at 12:30pm Saturday at the TD Garden and be televised nationally on NBC. Should the game go past 4pm, coverage will switch over to the NBC Sports Network for the conclusion of the contest due to NBC's commitment to cover the Kentucky Derby.
-Speaking of NBC Sports Network, many B's fans were excited to tune in to Thursday night's game one to hear the best play-by-play man in professional sports - Doc Emerick - with the call. They were instead disappointed to hear the voice of Kenny Albert. It appears that the network's #1 play-by-play man will handle the series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers.
