Boston takes game one

BOSTON, MA – It’s fairly common knowledge the devil is in the details during the playoffs. One of the principles of success in the playoffs is discipline and it was the failure to adhere to that principle that cost Montreal in game one of their series against Boston. It was a game the Canadiens easily could have won. Montreal rallied after they were dropped 2-0 by a first period Boston blitz and knotted the score with two goals of their own. With the two teams tied Montreal carried the play in the beginning of the third period in an attempt to get a leg up. But Boston started to take play back late in the period by emphasizing their chip in and forecheck which led to pressure being placed on the Canadiens. Boston was punishing and pushing for the lead when defenseman Josh Gorges commited a senseless penalty to give Boston a power play. After a failed rush by the Bruins, Gorges found himself alone in front of Montreal’s goal with Boston’s PJ Axelsson next to him. With play turning up ice Gorges gave Axelsson a hit which was deemed to be a cross-check by the referee who was watching the play. The extra man advantage would prove to be exactly what the Bruins needed to take the game over. Just over a minute into the penalty Boston defender Zdeno Chara ripped a hard slapper past Carey Price to break open the tie game and an empty-net goal by Phil Kessel, his second of the game, would add insurance. For a while it did not appear all the histrionics would be necessary after the Bruins scored twice within 90 seconds. After an up-and-down period of play with the teams fairly evenly matched Kessel poked home his first of the evening into an empty net. The score was set up by David Krejci who turned his stick sideways to knife the puck to Kessel. Price nearly covered the puck up after he stopped a Chuck Kobasew shot, but Krejci jabbed his blade under Price’s glove and slid the puck to Kessel who rammed it home. Krejci would score a goal of his own when he backhanded a set-up from Michael Ryder past Price. The play was started by Milan Lucic who plowed into a Montreal defender to knock the puck free. Lucic got the puck to Ryder who in turn fed it to Krejci. At this point of the game it could have gone either way, Boston could have gone on to blow out Montreal or the Canadiens could fight back. It would be the latter. Part of Boston’s game plan is to “activate” their defenders and allow them to move up into play and/or pinch to keep the puck in the opponent’s zone. It is a strategy which led the team to the top of the Eastern Conference, however sometimes the system will break down and the Bruins opponents can go on odd man rushes if a forward falls to cover for the activated defender. That is exactly what led to Montreal’s first goal. Boston defender Matt Hunwick tried to keep the puck in the zone but failed to do so, a forward was late in covering and the Canadiens went on a two-on-one break. The initial rush was defended by Aaron Ward who dove to break up a cross-crease pass, but while Boston scrambled to regain composure the puck found a wide-open Chris Higgins who beat a diving Tim Thomas.  Montreal would complete their comeback after another Boston breakdown. Boston’s Stephane Yelle was serving a penalty for goaltender interference when the Canadiens brought the puck into the Boston zone. The Bruins succesfully killed the penalty and Yelle was entering the play when the inexplicable happened. As Saku Koivu moved the puck to the left nearly the entire Bruins club followed him, which left Alexei Kovalev open on the top of the face-off dot to the left of Thomas. It is generally known that it is a bad thing for opponent’s to leave Kovalev open and the Montreal forward made the Bruins pay for their transgression. After Kovalev’s goal the two clubs battled it out pretty evenly. Boston did have a chance to win the game twice as Dennis Wideman and Kessel each rang the crossbar behind Price while Montreal’s best chance came on a three-on-one. Montreal’s Glen Metropolit had a chance to win the game for the visitors, but he was stoned by Thomas. The two teams battled until Gorges’ mistake and Chara’s subsequent goal gave the Bruins a lead they would not relinquish. Contact tom.schettino@prohockeynews.com
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