By: Jeff Playdon | Follow me on Twitter @PlaydonJeff
Leading the series 3-2, the Bruins went into the Bell Centre looking to clinch the series and send Montreal back to their couches. The Bruins could make history tonight if they won game 6. In the previous series, when they’ve gone down 0-2, they were 0-26. That could change tonight. Along with trying to make history tonight, the Bruins would try to break their powerplay drought.
The Bruins are 0-16 on the powerplay in the series, not good. It’d be hard to believe they could win this game with a single one-up goal. Tim Thomas and Carey Price would get the start in net and have been unbelievable in this series. Boston would be without Tyler Seguin and Shane Hnidy. Montreal would be without David Desharnais, Alexandre Picard, Benoit Pouliot, and James Wisniewski.
Montreal on the Board First
Game 6 was upon us, and the Montreal crowd tried getting under the Bruin’s skin. The common trend of booing Zdeno Chara when he touched the puck continued. At 16:33 of the period, the Bruins got a lucky break. As Tim Thomas appeared to have the puck covered, the ref blew the whistle. However, Tim Thomas did not have the puck covered, and Gionta tipped the puck in. The goal would be called back, though, since the linesmen blew his whistle and the play was dead. The Montreal crowd was irate and threw towels, cans, etc. on onto the ice. If the crowd didn’t stop, the Bruins would get a powerplay as a result. No penalty was called, and the period went on.
11:06 into the period, Montreal would get the game’s first powerplay. A result of Boston having too many men on the ice. Just three seconds later, Dennis Seidenberg was whistled for slashing, and now Montreal had a 5-on-3 powerplay for 1:57. As expected, Montreal converted, and it was 1-0 Montreal. Mike Cammalleri one-timed it off a swift P.K Subban pass. Montreal still had a powerplay for 50 seconds. The Bruins killed the powerplay off but found themselves down 1-0.
With the period passing at the last minute, Andrei Kostitsyn was called for hooking. Boston had a powerplay for the last 21 seconds of the period, which would continue into the second period for 1:39. The powerplay didn’t last long as Patrice Bergeron was called for goaltender interference with eight seconds left in the period. The first period ended, and Boston looked to have a much better period in the second.
Lucic Tossed/Montreal Still Up
The second period was underway, and it was 4-on-4 for 1:40. Just 48 seconds into the second, Dennis Seidenberg netted a wraparound goal, and it was a 1-1 tie. A much-needed boost that Boston needed. Seconds later, both teams were back to even strength. 4:37 into the second, Milan Lucic boarded Jaroslav Spacek face-first into the glass and was called for a 10-minute game misconduct and was thrown out of the game. A devastating blow to the Bruins and Montreal was given a five-minute powerplay. A huge opportunity for Montreal to blow this game out of the water.
16 seconds into Montreal’s powerplay, Bergeron was called for Delay-of-game, and now it was 5-on-3. Boston’s night just kept getting worse and worse. With 1:05 left on the 5-on-3 powerplay, Brian Gionta buried the puck in the net, and it was 2-1 Montreal. Montreal still had 3:50 left on the powerplay due to the game misconduct from Milan Lucic. Boston was somehow able to kill off the penalty, and 10:22 was remaining in the second period. Just 30 seconds after Boston killed off the major penalty, Roman Hamrlik was called for interference, and Boston was now on a powerplay. A pristine opportunity to tie this game.
The powerplay cold spell continued for Boston, and they were now 0-18 on powerplays in this series. One minute later, Boston again had another powerplay opportunity when Montreal was called for too many men on the ice. Once again, Boston couldn’t convert and was now 0-19. Another minute later, Boston had another powerplay opportunity when Jaroslav Spacek was called for hooking.
Could this finally be the powerplay where Boston could convert? If you guessed no, you were right. Just 22 seconds into Boston’s powerplay Nathan Horton was called for hooking, and it was 4-on-4 hockey for 1:38. The last three minutes of the period went by, and finally, the second period was over. After not converting on one of the three powerplays, Boston was now 0-20 on powerplays in this series. The Bruins looked to tie the game in the last 20 minutes of regulation.
Boston’s Late Effort not enough
The third period began, and Boston looked to tie the game and clinch the series. Throughout the first half of the period, Boston’s relentless attack on Montreal was repeatedly put to a halt by stunning goaltending from Carey Price. With every mishandle or rebound off Price’s pad, as a Bruins fan, you hoped one of those bounces would result in a Bruins goal.
Boston’s efforts to tie the game were pretty much put to an end when Chris Kelly was whistled for high sticking with 3:10 remaining in the game. However, there was a little hope left since Boston was able to kill the penalty, and there was still 1:10 left in the game. With 45 ticks remaining in the period, Boston pulled the goalie, but the late effort was not enough, and Montreal held on for a 2-1 win.
Game 7 Tomorrow Night
Montreal did it. They were able to win Game 6 and force a Game 7 at TD Garden. Montreal was able to take advantage of the Bruin’s mistakes and make them pay. The shot totals at the end of the night were 32-Boston, 27-Montreal. While the shot totals were in Boston’s favor, their ability to stay out of the penalty box was not. Montreal had seven powerplay opportunities, including a five-minute major from Milan Lucic’s game misconduct.
Boston had their fair share of chances, too, with four powerplay opportunities but could not convert on one. The three stars of the game were Brian Gionta (one goal), Carey Price (31 saves on 32 shots, one goal allowed), and Michael Cammalleri (one goal, one assist). The series would resume tomorrow for Game 7. One team would advance, and the other would be sitting at home watching the rest of the playoffs.
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