MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens have little time to savor their latest successful effort at staving off playoff elimination.
They’ve got another do-or-die game coming right up. And now, so do the Boston Bruins.
Michael Cammalleri and Brian Gionta each scored 5-on-3 goals and Montreal beat the Bruins 2-1 on Tuesday night, forcing a seventh game to decide their first-round series.
“In less than 24 hours we’ve got to do it all over again and tonight gets forgotten really quickly depending on the result (Wednesday) night,” said Cammalleri, who scored in the first and assisted on Gionta’s goal in the second.
Game 7 is Wednesday night in Boston, which is bidding to win for just the ninth time in 33 playoff meetings between the longtime rivals.
“It’s win or you’re done,” said Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, who stopped 25 shots. “If we play the same way we did to win the three, we’ll win the fourth.”
The Canadiens improved to 6-1 in playoff games where they have faced elimination dating to last year’s run to the Eastern Conference final.
“It’s a lot better coming in here knowing we’re going to Boston than coming in here knowing that we’re going home,” said Montreal’s Carey Price, who stopped Rich Peverley’s short-handed chance with just over 2 minutes remaining and made 31 saves. “We can’t dwell on it, though. We’ve got to saddle up and do it again (Wednesday).”
The Canadiens had lost three in a row, including the previous two in overtime, after winning the first two games on the road.
Dennis Seidenberg scored for Boston, which played more than half the game without ejected winger Milan Lucic but still outshot Montreal 32-27.
“Obviously when it’s 5-on-3 it’s harder to keep the puck out of the net,” Thomas said.
The Bruins went 0 for 3 on the power play and have yet to convert a chance in 18 opportunities through the first six games.
“The power play’s been struggling and they won the game because of that tonight, because of their power play,” center Patrice Bergeron said. “We’ve got to find a way and bear down.”
Lucic was given a boarding major and a game misconduct 4:37 into the second for his hit on Jaroslav Spacek. The Bruins’ 30-goal scorer drove the Montreal defenseman’s head into the glass on a check from behind directly in front of the off-ice officials.
“I haven’t had a chance to really look at it closely; you see quick replays here and there, but it’s something I need to see before I’m able to comment on that,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said.
The Canadiens got their second lengthy two-man advantage of the game 16 seconds later when Bergeron was penalized after his clearing attempt sailed over the glass.
Gionta, who had a goal disallowed in the first, got his third of the series at 5:48 on the ensuing two-man advantage to restore Montreal’s one-goal lead at 2-1.
Spacek, who was bleeding and laid on the ice in obvious pain before he was attended to by a trainer and helped off, later returned to the Canadiens’ bench.
The crowd of 21,273 booed as a Montreal goal 3:27 in was disallowed due to a quick whistle. Scott Gomez’s dump-in was misplayed by Thomas and lay clearly open beside him as Gionta slipped it in the net.
Cammalleri was the catalyst for the opening goal as he threw the puck toward the Boston bench and caught the Bruins with too many men on the ice, then had his stick slashed in two by Seidenberg for a two-man advantage. Cammalleri one-timed a pass from P.K. Subban inside the near post from the right circle at 10:07.
The Bruins struck back with the teams each down one man only 48 seconds into the middle period as Seidenberg came out from behind the net and lifted it inside the post.
Brad Marchand had a chance to draw Boston even for a second time late in the second but he misfired on a chance at a wide open side during frenzied play while both teams were a man short.
NOTES: The ice was littered with promotional towels after the disallowed goal, prompting a warning that the Canadiens would be subject to a minor penalty if the crowd caused any further delays by throwing objects on the rink. … Yvan Cournoyer brought out the Canadiens’ torch to begin the pregame presentation. … No team has won a playoff series without scoring a power-play goal since Anaheim swept Detroit in the first round in 2003. … Price had lost each of his previous seven playoff starts at the Bell Centre dating to 2008. … D James Wisniewski and C David Desharnais did not play for Montreal and were replaced by Yannick Weber and Paul Mara. Both suffered undisclosed injuries during Game 5. … Canadiens C Lars Eller left early in the first after suffering an apparent right shoulder injury but returned late in the period.
Flyers 5, Sabres 2
PHILADELPHIA — Brian Boucher stopped 25 shots and the Philadelphia Flyers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 7 of their first-round series on Tuesday night.
The Flyers raced to a 4-0 lead and chased Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller in the third.
It was a switch from the rest of the series where the Flyers had trouble in the net. They started three goalies in seven games. Boucher won Games 2 and 6 in relief, but was stout for all 60 minutes in the series clincher.
The defending conference champions must wait to learn their next opponent.
Braydon Coburn, Danny Briere, James van Riemsdyk, and Ville Leino all scored against Miller to suck the drama out of Game 7.
The Flyers surely won’t complain about a rout.
This was the Flyers team that spent a chunk of the season atop the East standings, not the one that stumbled down the stretch.
Coburn put the Flyers ahead with only 19 seconds left in the first period, and Briere and van Riemsdyk put the game away with goals in the second.
“In the big games, we show up,” said Briere, as the crowd roared in approval.
The Sabres never stood a chance in front of 19,966 screaming Flyers fans.
Or against Boucher.
Boucher may have solidified himself as the No. 1 goalie for as long as Philadelphia’s postseason run lasts. Sergei Bobrovsky started Games 1 and 2; Boucher got Games 3-5 and 7; and Michael Leighton Game 6. Boucher won two games in relief, including Sunday’s win-or-go-home Game 6 in Buffalo.
This time, it was Miller who was yanked.
Miller, who won two 1-0 games this series, got the hook after Leino’s slapper early in the third made it 4-0. The crowd went wild when Miller skated off the ice. Leino applauded hockey-style, tapping his glove against his stick in appreciation.
From there, it was just a matter of watching the minutes tick off.
Boucher’s bid at the Flyers’ first shutout of the season ended when Tyler Myers made it 4-1 in the third.
The Flyers rallied from a 3-2 series deficit a year after they won four straight to overcome a 3-0 hole against Boston in the East semifinals.
There was no need for a comeback in this game.
The Flyers pounded Miller for 19 minutes in the first period — one near-miss even set off the goal light.
With time winding down, Briere won a clean faceoff and got the puck to Coburn. His liner from the point turned into a knuckleball after Sabres winger Michael Grier tipped it with his glove and the puck wobbled through Miller’s legs.
Briere tapped Miller on the back of his head as he skated away.
The Flyers grabbed the 1-0 lead with 19 seconds left and reversed what had been a string of miserable starts. The Sabres outscored them 11-5 in the first period over the first six games.
Briere, one of the great clutch playoff performers in the NHL, made it 2-0 when he sneaked in behind Miller and pounded in his series-high sixth goal.
Van Riemsdyk made it 3-0 midway through the second and the Sabres were finished.
Dan Carcillo made it a 5-1 lead and Brad Boyes’ late backhander pushed it to 5-2.
The fast starts and solid goalie play were part of a needed winning trifecta for the Flyers. The third came on the power play where Briere and van Riemsdyk scored their goals. The Flyers were 1 for 20 at home this series and 3 for 31 overall.
Now it’s time to start fresh. They’ll play either Boston, Pittsburgh or Tampa Bay.
The Sabres head home after new ownership and a rousing finish to the regular season helped give them confidence for next season.
Buffalo was hit hard with injuries in this series and was undermanned in the final two games. Tim Connolly, Jason Pominville and Patrick Kaleta all sat out Game 7.
Derek Roy returned to the lineup for the first time since Dec. 23. The team’s leading scorer when he suffered a torn quadriceps in December, he had been ruled out of the first round. He was pressed into service with Connolly injured.
They’ll have all offseason to rest.
Notes: The Flyers improved to 9-6 in Game 7s. … Philadelphia hosted its first Game 7 since beating Toronto in the first round on April 22, 2003. … The Sabres fell to 1-6 in Game 7s, including 0-5 on the road.