The inclination was absolutely omnipresent that this thing was going to go the distance. If not, then it would get pretty close to the pinnacle.
Once Monday night arrived, we had reached that point. Game six took place at the Bell Centre in Montreal. If the Boston Bruins wanted to end this series and have a joyous flight home, then they were going to be put through hell to do just that. Why not conquer all challenges en route to the greatest prize in the sport?
They had a stellar effort against the Habs in game five on Saturday, but the Bruins knew that this was not going to be easy. With the shakeup of line combinations and the Bell Centre crowd behind them, the Canadiens were looking to force game seven.
Something had to give, right?
As for the Bruins and their lineup, it remained the same for this one. Chris Kelly is still sidelined with back spasms. However, Matt Fraser has turned into a pretty capable player on that third line during his brief stint. The Bruins would have a decision to make if Kelly does return.
Montreal was the hot team in the first period. They imposed their will by lashing out hits while being sneaky good in drawing penalties. After a sloppy giveaway, Lars Eller slid the puck past Tuukka Rask for the opening goal. That seemed to be the story of the first 20 minutes: lucky bounces of the puck.
In the second period, the Bruins accumulated a plethora of scoring chances. Unfortunately, Carey Price stonewalled and stymied Boston in its tracks. The Habs were able to cash in on their chances on goals from Max Pacioretty and Thomas Vanek, two guys that the B's vowed to shut down. #miscommunication
Even video review could not benefit the Bruins on this night. Nothing went right for the B's, and the Canadiens took advantage of the opportunity. Vanek added an empty-net goal late in the third period to ice the 4-0 win in game six (pun intended). Just a poor effort from front to back, but some of this can be attributed to lucky bounces for Montreal. This should not have been a surprise if you are keeping score at home-the B's are 0-5 in game sixes on the road under Claude Julien.
We will reconvene on Wednesday night for game seven at the TD Garden.
Gold Star: Jarome Iginla...He led the team in shots, and he actually looked engaged out there.
Black Star: Kevan Miller...The young defenseman was responsible for two big turnovers, one of which led to a goal. He needs to tighten up the screws in the defensive zone and not be so sloppy with the puck.
Game six box score.....
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