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best of 7 series tied 3-3
The Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins have been here before - with the last time being three years ago. The Original Six rivals will compete in a Game 7 on Wednesday for the ninth time in history as the Canadiens and host Bruins decide their Eastern Conference second-round series. Carey Price recorded his fourth career postseason shutout - all against Boston - on Monday, turning aside 26 shots as Montreal staved off elimination by cruising to a 4-0 triumph in Game 6.
Reigning Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban didn't score in that contest, but he did tally with 1:57 to play in the teams' last Game 7 meeting - on April 27, 2011. The then-rookie defenseman tied the game before Nathan Horton beat Price 5:43 into overtime as the Bruins began a surge that culminated in a Stanley Cup title. "It's going to be great," Subban said of Wednesday's winner-take-all game. "I can't wait for the crowd, the noise, the energy in the building. I can't wait to take that all away from them."
ABOUT THE CANADIENS: Thomas Vanek has proven himself to be a thorn in the side of the Bruins - and this series has been no exception. The 30-year-old Austrian scored twice on Monday to double his goal total for the series and has tallied 34 times in 61 career games versus Boston. Max Pacioretty (one goal, three assists in the series) admitted he was getting outplayed by Boston captain Zdeno Chara in the set's first four contests, but the Connecticut native chimed in with a goal and an assist in Game 6.
Montreal won Game 1 in Boston. The Canadiens think they've pretty much settled on what works and what doesn't when it comes to taking down the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins. They can't get mixed up in a battle of brawn.
"You can't beat the Bruins playing like the Bruins," forward Daniel Briere said. "I think they're probably the best at it. We have to be smarter. We'll have to take punches, we'll have to take slashes, we'll have to get hurt at times, and then that's when we're most successful, when we don't get into their game."
ABOUT THE BRUINS: David Krejci led Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston in the regular season with 69 points but has just one (an assist in Game 2) in the series and three in the postseason. Despite his struggles, the Czech Olympian remains optimistic that he and fellow struggling linemate Milan Lucic (one goal, two assists in the series) will get it in gear. "Yeah, we had some good looks out there," Krejci said. "They didn't go in for us, but we're going to stay positive in here."
"You go back and look at what we were doing right and what helped our team to victories, obviously," defenseman Torey Krug said. "But at the same time, I think it all comes down to preparation [Wednesday] and making sure we're ready to go, because that first 20 minutes is going to be a crucial part of the game. So you've just got to be ready for it."
Boston's hallmark in the regular season was consistency. Through six games against Montreal, they've been inconsistent. It's hard to get a feel for whether the Bruins will play like they did when they won Game 5 or lost Game 6. Center Gregory Campbell has faith it'll be the former.
"As a team and as an organization, we've always held ourselves to a high standard," Campbell said. "And there's a lot of pride in the room and we want to win. It's up to us to show that we want to win and that we can win. But the game is played on the ice. That's where we have to compete and be ready for it."
Who's hot: Canadiens forward Thomas Vanek scored twice in Game 6 and has four goals in the series. Forward Max Pacioretty scored his first goal of the series in Game 6 and has three assists. … Forward Reilly Smith leads the Bruins with three goals in the series; center Carl Soderberg and left wing Brad Marchand lead in points with five each.
Injury report: Montreal forward Alex Galchenyuk (lower body) remains out. However, Galchenyuk skated with his teammates for the first time today since suffering a lower-body injury in the final month of the regular season. He wore a white non-contact jersey. After practice, coach Michel Therrien indicated that Galchenyuk is making progress toward a return but will not take part in Game 7. … Boston defensemen Dennis Seidenberg (ACL/MCL) and Adam McQuaid (ankle) and forward Chris Kelly (back) are out.
OVERTIME
1. The winner of Wednesday's showdown will meet the New York Rangers, who overcame a 3-1 series deficit to upend Pittsburgh in the second round. Boston won all three regular-season meetings with New York while Montreal posted a 2-1-0 mark versus the Rangers.
2. Montreal has won five of the eight previous Game 7 meetings between the teams.
3. Boston's Claude Julien will coach in his 10th Game 7, tying Mike Keenan for the most in league history.
Trends
Canadiens are 12-4 in their last 16 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Bruins are 6-1 in their last 7 games following a loss of 3 or more goals.
Over is 5-1-1 in the last 7 meetings in Boston.
Canadiens are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Boston.
http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nhl/matchups/g2_preview_1.html
http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/preview?id=2013030217
best of 7 series tied 3-3
The Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins have been here before - with the last time being three years ago. The Original Six rivals will compete in a Game 7 on Wednesday for the ninth time in history as the Canadiens and host Bruins decide their Eastern Conference second-round series. Carey Price recorded his fourth career postseason shutout - all against Boston - on Monday, turning aside 26 shots as Montreal staved off elimination by cruising to a 4-0 triumph in Game 6.
Reigning Norris Trophy winner P.K. Subban didn't score in that contest, but he did tally with 1:57 to play in the teams' last Game 7 meeting - on April 27, 2011. The then-rookie defenseman tied the game before Nathan Horton beat Price 5:43 into overtime as the Bruins began a surge that culminated in a Stanley Cup title. "It's going to be great," Subban said of Wednesday's winner-take-all game. "I can't wait for the crowd, the noise, the energy in the building. I can't wait to take that all away from them."
ABOUT THE CANADIENS: Thomas Vanek has proven himself to be a thorn in the side of the Bruins - and this series has been no exception. The 30-year-old Austrian scored twice on Monday to double his goal total for the series and has tallied 34 times in 61 career games versus Boston. Max Pacioretty (one goal, three assists in the series) admitted he was getting outplayed by Boston captain Zdeno Chara in the set's first four contests, but the Connecticut native chimed in with a goal and an assist in Game 6.
Montreal won Game 1 in Boston. The Canadiens think they've pretty much settled on what works and what doesn't when it comes to taking down the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins. They can't get mixed up in a battle of brawn.
"You can't beat the Bruins playing like the Bruins," forward Daniel Briere said. "I think they're probably the best at it. We have to be smarter. We'll have to take punches, we'll have to take slashes, we'll have to get hurt at times, and then that's when we're most successful, when we don't get into their game."
ABOUT THE BRUINS: David Krejci led Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston in the regular season with 69 points but has just one (an assist in Game 2) in the series and three in the postseason. Despite his struggles, the Czech Olympian remains optimistic that he and fellow struggling linemate Milan Lucic (one goal, two assists in the series) will get it in gear. "Yeah, we had some good looks out there," Krejci said. "They didn't go in for us, but we're going to stay positive in here."
"You go back and look at what we were doing right and what helped our team to victories, obviously," defenseman Torey Krug said. "But at the same time, I think it all comes down to preparation [Wednesday] and making sure we're ready to go, because that first 20 minutes is going to be a crucial part of the game. So you've just got to be ready for it."
Boston's hallmark in the regular season was consistency. Through six games against Montreal, they've been inconsistent. It's hard to get a feel for whether the Bruins will play like they did when they won Game 5 or lost Game 6. Center Gregory Campbell has faith it'll be the former.
"As a team and as an organization, we've always held ourselves to a high standard," Campbell said. "And there's a lot of pride in the room and we want to win. It's up to us to show that we want to win and that we can win. But the game is played on the ice. That's where we have to compete and be ready for it."
Who's hot: Canadiens forward Thomas Vanek scored twice in Game 6 and has four goals in the series. Forward Max Pacioretty scored his first goal of the series in Game 6 and has three assists. … Forward Reilly Smith leads the Bruins with three goals in the series; center Carl Soderberg and left wing Brad Marchand lead in points with five each.
Injury report: Montreal forward Alex Galchenyuk (lower body) remains out. However, Galchenyuk skated with his teammates for the first time today since suffering a lower-body injury in the final month of the regular season. He wore a white non-contact jersey. After practice, coach Michel Therrien indicated that Galchenyuk is making progress toward a return but will not take part in Game 7. … Boston defensemen Dennis Seidenberg (ACL/MCL) and Adam McQuaid (ankle) and forward Chris Kelly (back) are out.
OVERTIME
1. The winner of Wednesday's showdown will meet the New York Rangers, who overcame a 3-1 series deficit to upend Pittsburgh in the second round. Boston won all three regular-season meetings with New York while Montreal posted a 2-1-0 mark versus the Rangers.
2. Montreal has won five of the eight previous Game 7 meetings between the teams.
3. Boston's Claude Julien will coach in his 10th Game 7, tying Mike Keenan for the most in league history.
Trends
Canadiens are 12-4 in their last 16 after allowing 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Bruins are 6-1 in their last 7 games following a loss of 3 or more goals.
Over is 5-1-1 in the last 7 meetings in Boston.
Canadiens are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Boston.
http://www.covers.com/pageLoader/pageLoader.aspx?page=/data/nhl/matchups/g2_preview_1.html
http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/preview?id=2013030217
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