The Boston Bruins fell in game seven to the Montreal Canadiens 5-0. Most will see this as an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the rival Habs. That, the Bruins once again let fans down in game seven. The casual fan will now look to the Celtics to roll through the playoffs, the Red Sox to continue to out slug everyone, and the Patriots to get even better with the seventh pick in the draft. The B’s had their shot in the lime light and came up empty. Its unfortunate that it turns out this way but when you’re competing with the best team in the respective league, its a reality.

For an instant the Bruins were the toast of the town. They were headlining sport talk shows. There was chatter all over New England when they forced a game seven. There was more hype surrounding the Bruins than there had been in quite some time. A team that was down and out  was about to pull off a Red Sox sized comeback.  It was a young likable team with a ticker the size of the ice they played on. An irrelevant team was relevant again. It was fun to be a Bruins’ fan for the moment. The streets outside the the Garden were filled with black and gold. The Garden itself was electric. City bars were at capacity with puck heads. But like all good things it came to an end.

The Bruins skated past the Canadiens with a 5-1 victory in Montreal last night. The win saves the B’s season and brings this relentless bunch back to Boston to try and tie the best-of-seven series at three games apiece. Boston, who had only score a total of five goals in the previous four games, lit the lamp up for five in Thursday’s playoff battle.

A major component to the Bruins success was the return of Phil Kessel, who scored the Bruins’ first goal and tied the game at one. Kessel had been a healthy scratch for the last three games of this series. Call it being unfairly singled out for the lack-luster play of the Bruins in game one. But it was a coaches decision for the benching. It seemed that Claude Julien wanted to get a tougher bunch against the Habs. It wasn’t only Kessel that seemed outmatched in that opening game. The entire Bruins team looked terrible. However, with hardly any playoff experience the B’s sub-par play was somewhat expected. I liked the move of changing things up and getting Vladimir Sobotka in the line up but Julien took out the wrong guy in my opinion. Sobotka deserves to play, but not at the expense of Kessel. Julien should have sat out Jeremy Riech or Shawn Thornton in those three games. Both guys are exactly the same type of players. If these two are playing a lot, your team is not scoring. The two players are grinders at best. You need offense and whether it shows up on the score sheet or not, Kessel’s speed and creatability opens the ice for Boston’s offence, especially with no red line.

Game three at the Garden saw the Bruins snap the Canadiens unbeaten streak against them. Marc Savard’s overtime goal gave the B’s a 2-1 victory. That goal was Savard’s first career playoff goal. What a way to get your first. This game could be a huge momentum swing for the B’s. It now gives the young Bruins confidence to beat the Habs. Which is something that hasn’t happened all year.

The Bruins haven’t won a playoff series since 1999, losing three straight. Two of those three times they lost to Montreal. Losing all eight regular-season match ups to the Habs, Boston didn’t have the lead in a single game, for a single second.  Up until Milan Lucic’s first period goal, Boston has either trailed or have been tied with Montreal in every moment of every game in the 2007-2008 season, including playoffs.

This win changes the whole complexion of the series. Montreal still leads two games to one, but it could easily be the Bruins with the series lead or Montreal with a commanding 3-0 lead. After being dominated by the Habs in the first game, Boston has outplayed Montreal in the last two. If it wasn’t for some questionable calls in Montreal late in game two, the B’s would be looking for a  3-1 when the series resumes on Tuesday.

For the first time in four years the Stanley Cup playoffs come back to Boston. Being picked by many to finish dead last in the NHL, Boston was supposed to be the door mat of the league. Now they are in the playoffs. That alone makes the B’s relevant in Boston again, never mind that they face off against their hated rivals, the Canadiens. What is better than a Boston vs. Montreal playoff battle? The B’s head into the series as the heavy underdogs. What else is new?They have been the underdogs all season long. B’s Habs, wouldn’t want it any other way.

2007-2008 Regular season match up

The Habs owned the season series, sweeping Boston in all eight games. To go back further, Montreal has won 11 straight against the B’s. The last time Boston beat the Canadiens was on March 3, 2007 in a 3-1 home victory.

2007-2008 Winner Scores

Canadiens 6-1
Canadiens 2-1
Canadiens 7-4
Canadiens 4-2
Canadiens 5-2
Canadiens 8-2
Canadiens 4-2
Canadiens 3-2