Bruins-Canadiens: Let's Get It On....Playoff Style

By Ben Altsher
9:37 pm: It's all over. Kessel scores the empty netter and starts the brawl in the corner. Time to head down and talk to the guys about the Game 1 win.

9:27 pm: Axelsson's headed back to the locker room after taking a hard fall while blocking a puck. Hopefully it's nothing serious as he's one of the Bruins best defensive forwards and they could use him for these final few minutes. Montreal hasn't recorded a shot on net for over 10 minutes.

9:21 pm: Bruins 3, Habs 2. Chara amends things with a rocket of a one-timer. Hey Carey Price, that's the sound of a 105 mph slapper going by your ear. And we're rocking in the Garden once again.

9:20 pm: A near goal by Recchi quickly waved off.

9:18 pm: And the B's decided to wake up. After some good offensive possessions, they draw their fourth penalty of the game and the Dropkick Murphys are blasting the roof off the place. This would certainly be a good time for Boston to break its oh-fer on the power play tonight.

9:10 pm: The Garden crowd is none too pleased with the start of the third period. The Canadiens are taking longer and longer shifts on offense and the Bruins have barely been able to get the puck past their own blue line. Something needs to change quick if Boston wants make sure they take game one.

9:06 pm: Montreal's controlled the first five minutes of the third, outshooting the Bruins 4-1 while spending most of their time in Boston's zone.

8:40 pm: After two periods we're knotted at two goals apiece. The Kovalev strike came late in the 2nd and seems to have taken a little bit of life out of the Bruins. Let's see if the crowd can bring them back and spur them on to a dominant third and the victory.

8:37 pm: Just after the man advantage expires, Alex Kovalev takes a loose bouncing puck and picks out the high corner past Thomas. Can't do anything but credit the goalscorer there as he fit it into a space about the size of a donut hole.

8:33 pm: Stephane Yelle plows into Price after a scoring opportunity drawing the interference penalty. Another chance to tie for the Habs.

8:30 pm: Bruins 0-3 on the power play after the Habs are able to hold up once again. I've noticed that during the media timeouts Carey Price is heading all the way to the Canadien bench. Just a guess, but I suspect that he really doesn't want to be left alone at the fans mercy and likes having his support system around him during the long breaks. Maybe that's just wishful thinking.

8:27 pm: Another penalty on Plekanec, third power play chance of the night for Boston.

8:25 pm: Thomas bails out the B's on a blown play in the offensive end that leads to a Montreal 3 on 1 the other way. He's looking strong as usual.

8:21 pm: Chara and Laraque have another post-whistle discussion. If this game gets out of hand, there's no doubt that those two will be throwing down in a matchup of the titans.

8:16 pm: Nothing doing for the Habs on the power play thanks to a miraculous diving save by Thomas. Krejci had a chance shorthanded with one man between him and Price but elected for a deep slap shot as opposed to taking on his man.

8:11 pm: First power play for the Canadiens on a Patrice Bergeron hook.

8:03 pm: About to start the second period and it looks like we've got our first ejection. Not a player, some fan sitting right below where I'm stationed in the corner of the Garden has been removed from the building.

7:47 pm: One period in the books and it's a 2-1 lead for the home team. The Bruins look like their dominant selves. Seems like they let the 2-0 lead get into their heads a little bit as the Garden crowd serenaded Carey Price. The Canadiens certainly aren't going down without a fight, and it definitely looks like they want the Bruins to go toe-to-toe with them and draw penalties the same way they did last Thursday.

7:41 pm: Bruins 2, Habs 1. Christopher Higgins answers for Montreal after several dramatic saves and blocked shots by the Bruins defense. Unfortunately the Montreal forwards were just a little too quick with the puck.

7:39 pm: Bruins 2, Habs 0. Lucic chases a puck into the corner, slides it back to Michael Ryder who backhands it across the crease to an open David Krejci who roofs a backhander past Carey Price. Prettiest goal of the playoffs without a doubt.

7:33 pm: Bruins 1, Habs 0. Phil Kessel scores on the end of the power play, knocking home a rebound. Georges Laraque continues to draw the ire of the Black and Gold. He's played a ton thus far, even though he's not a skilled player. I think his only purpose is to draw a penalty on Chara or Lucic and take them out of the game, but the Bruins have not fallen into the trap yet.

7:30 pm: Another power play chance for the B's. This one thanks to a tripping penalty on Roman Hamrlik.

7:27 pm: Best scoring chance of the night pops up courtesy the Savard, Kessel, Axelsson line. Wheeler's been shifted down to the fourth grouping to balance the physical play I'm guessing.

7:23 pm: Nothing doing with the power play. Montreal's able to keep Boston from setting up in their zone. Georges Laraque continues to pursue Lucic as if his only goal is to take the emotional winger out of the game, which it probably is.

7:16 pm: First power play to the B's. Tomas Plekanec goes off for the hook.

7:14 pm: Lucic absolutely demolishes Pratice Brisebois into the boards sending everyone into a frenzy. The Canadiens are coming right after the Bruins early though.

6:59 pm: Pre-video montage the crowd busts out a "Let's Go Bruins" chant. Any more questions about if the crowd's ready?

6:43 pm: As if you couldn't tell by Alastair's column earlier today, some of us here on the Young Guns are pretty freakin' excited for this game. The two teams are wrapping up warmups as I type this and only about one quarter of the fans have made their way into the Garden, but you can already feel the energy building. The opening montage goes off in t-minus 15 minutes, and this place is going to explode. The race for the Cup begins soon, and I don't know if any fan base wants it more.

On a sidenote, the catering crew brings out their A-game as well tonight. Ice cream sundae stand blows everybody in the media out of the water, providing some tasty dessert to some unbelieveable lobster ravioli. (Yes, I just typed that purely to make everyone reading it jealous.) Let's Go B's!
...Read more