Last night the Montreal Canadiens decided they want to play some more hockey, defeating the Boston Bruins at home 4-0.
Carey Price was superb between the pipes for the Habs, on the other side of the ice it was a rough night for Vezina finalist Tuukka Rask. Rask stopped 24 shots for Boston, which has now failed to close out five straight series in which it entered Game 6 on the road with a 3-2 lead.
It didn’t take long to get the Bell Centre rocking. Lars Eller opened the scoring with his backhand goal that beat Rask, just two minutes into the game.
The period would close with a handful of penalties and with the home Canadiens on top 1-0.
Heading into the second, Boston knew they needed to score or they would be in trouble. In trouble the were, with the Habs scoring first in the period again.
Max Pacioretty scored his second goal of the postseason, beating Rask through his five-hole, after picking up the blocked shot. The Bruins would take a bad penalty to close the period, and Thomas Vanek made them pay. Vanek’s first of the night, came on the power play and his backhanded shot put the Habs at a comfortable 3-0 lead, heading into the final frame.
In a mainly tame third period, Vanek would score his second goal of the game with a little under five minutes remaining in regulation. This time it was a wrister for Vanek that beat Rask.
The final minute is where things got chippy, and ultimately set the tone for game 7 tomorrow night in Boston.
Zdeno Chara picked up a double minor for slashing. Jarome Iginla and Max Weaver bout received game misconducts for their altercation.
The worse part was the fans seen throwing garbage at the Boston players as they skated to their player tunnel.
The Bruins have played in eight Game 7s since 2008. They are 4-4 in those games.
“We’ve been through it, so I’ve got no doubts in my mind that we [can] get it done,” Rask said.
On the west coast, where I basically wrote of the Anaheim Ducks in a previous blog, the Ducks have won three in a row and are in the captains seat to take the series (3-2).
Led by a 20 year old goalie, John Gibson, and 21 year old winger, Devante Smith-Pelly, the Ducks are using the youth to their advantage.
The home team failed to win each of the first four games of the series; however, there was a different scent in the air at the Honda Center Monday night. It didn’t take long for the “Beat L.A.” chants to start, and the place really took off when Nick Bonino got the opening goal for the Ducks just two minutes into the game.
Bonino had his wrist shot beat Jonathan Quick, and quickly put the Honda Center in a frenzy. The lead was short lived as the Kings got back into the game before the halfway mark of the opening period.
Trevor Lewis scored his third goal of the playoffs on a wrist shot that went off Ducks defenseman Bryan Allen. Anaheim looked confused on a line change, and Lewis grabbed a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated down right wing, before beating Gibson.
The beginning of the second period is when Smith-Pelly took over.
After a sloppy hooking penalty by Kings Defenseman Alec Martinez, Devante took over on the power play. Smith-Pelly put his first goal in, on a deflected shot that found its way past Quick. A minute later it was a backhanded shot that got past Quick, and Smith-Pelly scored twice on four shots.
Jakob Silverberg put his wrister past Quick and ultimately put the Ducks in the drivers seat, up 4-1 half way through the second period.
Devante Smith-Pelly took a Hi stick – double minor penalty against Drew Doughty, and cracked the door for the Kings. Marian Gaborik would convert his wrist shot past Gibson, and cut the deficit 4-2 heading into the final period.
The Kings would try their best to come back in the final frame, but fell short. Marian Gaborik cut the deficit to one, as he scored his second of the game beating Gibson to the puck for a tip in. With only five minutes left there wasn’t enough time.
In a last ditch effort the Kings pulled Quick, but they couldn’t find the equalizer.
“Turnovers, you just can’t have them,” Kings captain Dustin Brown said. “When you give up quick goals like that, it’s a momentum killer and a double whammy. They get it and we lose it. When we’re playing our game, we don’t have those turnovers.”
The series heads back to L.A. tomorrow night 9 pm EST (NBCSN).
Tonight’s Picks
Penguins 3-2, Blackhawks 4-2
photo credit: getty images and Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times GIFs: sohockeyeh