Montreal vs Boston : Price shutout sends Canadiens to Game 7

source : faceoff.com

The skinny: The Canadiens forced a seventh and deciding game in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Boston Bruins when they defeated the Bruins 4-0 Monday night at the Bell Centre. Carey Price made 26 saves for his first shutout of the playoffs. Thomas Vanek scored a power-play goal and added a second goal while Tuukka Rask was leaving the ice for an extra attacker. Lars Eller and Max Pacioretty each scored once.

Out of the shadows: Pacioretty and Vanek have been invisible for large parts of this series but they scored goals in a 2:36 span late in the second period to give the Canadiens a 3-0 lead. Pacioretty scored his first goal of the series and second of the playoffs when he caught Zdeno Chara sleeping and took a stretch pass from Nathan Beaulieu. He beat Tuukka Rask through the five-hole at 15:24. Vanek added a power-play goal at 17:39. Andrei Markov got the puck to the net and Pacioretty had a swipe at it before Vanek scored during a scramble in front.

First strike: In a series where the first goal has been important, the Canadiens took a 1-0 lead when Eller scored an unassisted goal at 2:11 of the opening period. When the Bruins tried to reverse the puck behind their net, rookie Kevin Miller was unable to control the pass and the puck bounced out in front of the net. Rask dove to reach the loose puck but he was unable to control it and Eller scored when he put a backhander under the shaft of Rask’s stick.

Close calls: The Canadiens were hemmed into their own end for nearly five minutes in the second period after P.K. Subban took a penalty for holding the stick. The Canadiens successfully killed the penalty but the Bruins kept the pressure on and squandered their best scoring chance when Milan Lucic missed an open net. The Bruins also missed an opportunity in the first period when Loui Eriksson hit the crossbar on the tail end of an odd-man rush. The Bruins thought they had a goal at 11:05 of the third period when Jarome Iginla deflected a puck in front. The puck went behind Price but David Desharnais batted the puck away as it bounced along the goal line.

Juggling the lineup: Beaulieu was a surprise addition to the Canadiens’ lineup. Beaulieu finished the season with the Hamilton Bulldogs and hadn’t played a game since April 19. He was making his first playoff appearance at the pro level. Coach Michel Therrien also brought Daniel Brière back into the lineup after a one-game absence. He replaced Travis Moen.

What’s next: The series moves to the TD Garden for the deciding Game 7 Wednesday night (7 p.m., CBC, RDS, TSN Radio 690). The winner will advance to the Eastern Conference final against the winner of Tuesday night’s game between the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins.