Eastern Conference Quarterfinals - Game Three

The first two games of this series have been disappointing to the standards of the Bruins. They have taken 66 shots in the first two games and only produced one goal. At the end of the day, it does not matter how many shots you take. What matters is getting bodies (particularly forwards) in front of the net to score goals. In the first two games of the series, the Bruins were timid in their offensive approach.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the one individual who used to do that on a nightly basis was Marc Savard. He was one of the best in the league at taking the puck to the net for a shot or a pass. It just goes to show you how valuable he was to this team. If you ask me what the answer was to why Boston could not get more pressure on Montreal in the first two games, I would tell you it was due to the absence of Savard.

As I say that, his replacements had a great game tonight (Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley). Before we get to the game, it needs to be said that Bruins defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara made his return to the line up tonight after being sidelined for game two with dehydration. He brought a spark tonight that everyone else on the team fed off of. Three minutes into the game, the Bruins took their first lead of the playoffs when David Krejci scored a goal immediately after the Bruins killed a penalty. Dennis Seidenberg and Patrice Bergeron had the assists.

Later on in the period, Nathan Horton trickled in a goal that put Boston on top by a score of 2-0. As the period progressed, we witnessed the cheap and disgusting tactics that the Canadiens use to get under their opponent's skin. Benoit Pouliot (MTL) launched himself at Johnny Boychuk (BOS) when he had his head facing the boards. That was quickly responded by Andrew Ference (BOS) as he put a nice beating down on Pouliot.

The second period momentum favored Boston at the beginning as Rich Peverley put Boston on top by a score of 3-0 by scoring a goal that was assisted by Mark Recchi. It was at that time when Montreal decided to wake up. Andrei Kostitsyn put the Canadiens on the board after the Bruins defense could not clear the zone.

In the third period, Tomas Plekanec scored Montreal's second goal of the night. Mike Cammalleri had assists on both Montreal goals. Late in the period, Chris Kelly added an empty net goal to lock up the victory for the Bruins as they took game three by a score of 4-2. The road team is undefeated so far in this series. That needs to change for Boston's sake. Game four will be Thursday night at the Belle Centre in Montreal.

Gold Star: Patrice Bergeron (2 assists, +3 rating, 2 shots on goal, 4 hits)

Black Star: Daniel Paille...why does he even bother suiting up for a game? Yes, he is one of the better skaters we have on the team, but lets give Tyler Seguin a shot in his spot. Paille is the definition of a streaky player.