Boston Bruins edge past Montreal Canadiens, 4-3:
NHL Play-offs Recap
Nathan Horton lit the lamp into the extra-session to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 victory against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of Eastern Conference semi-finals, at the TD Garden on Wednesday night.
Mark Recchi and Johnny Boychuk each hit the net for Boston, who are in the semi-finals for the third consecutive season and went on losing it's next four Game 7s. Chris Kelly also notched a goal and Tim Thomas
turned away 34 shots to earn the victory.
"I've never been part of a series that was this close," said Thomas. "Both teams played with a bunch of character and it was back and forth the entire series."
Tomas Plekanec netted a goal and had an assist while Yannick Weber and P.K. Subban both also found the back of the net for Montreal, which has won its previous four games and is struggling to repeat on last
year's success. Carey Price was outstanding between the pipes, but came up just short in the loss, stopping 30 shots.
"We battled hard and I thought it was a misfortune that we didn't win," said Price. "I thought we deserved better, but teams that win Stanley Cups have a lot of skill and some luck and that team over there
had both."
Boston took command of the play early in the opening period and kept putting pressure on Montreal, and it paid off in just 3 ½ minutes, when Boychuk ripped a slap-shot from the right-point past Price, who
was unable to see the puck due to the screen in front.
Recchi gave the Bruins two-goal edge, 2-0, just over two minutes later. The goal came when Andrew Ference tipped a pass from the right circle to the slot, where Recchi jammed it home to the low left side.
Montreal cut the deficit in half, 2-1, on a power-play near the half-way mark of the first period, when Roman Hamrlik threw a cross-ice pass from the left boards over to the right, where Weber fired a perfect
wrist-shot into the net.
The Canadiens, though, got another goal back to tie it at 2-2 just less than six minutes into the middle session. After a turnover in the neutral zone, Plekanec stole the puck from Recchi and broke in alone
moving on a shorthanded and then banged a little wrist shot past Thomas to the left post.
Kelly put the Bruins on top with3-2 lead midway through the final session, when Ference’s unleashed a low wrist-shot on net, but it was saved. Kelly then grabbed the rebound and knocked it home with a backhanded
shot.
Subban knotted it at 3-3 again just 40 seconds later, when he blasted a one-timer from the top of the left circle that beat Thomas to the glove side to send the game to extra session.
Horton finally gave Bruins victory with 4-3 lead less than six minutes into overtime.
"I don't remember too much except for Lucic coming up with the puck and I just tried to get open," said Horton. "I wanted to get the puck towards the net and luckily it deflected off someone and went in."
The goal was set up by Milan Lucic, who controlled the puck deep in the Canadiens end, rushed up to the right circle and passed it up to the high slot for Horton, who drifted over to the right and slammed
a shot past Price for his third goal of the series.
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