Just over two minutes later, the Bruins responded. They were the No. In fact, Bruins head coach Claude Julien was Montreal's bench boss in 2004, when the Canadiens erased a 3-1 deficit and bounced Boston with a 2-0 win in Game 7. The official National Hockey League web site includes features, news, rosters, statistics, schedules, teams, live game radio broadcasts, and video clips. The 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 9, 2008, after the 2007–08 regular season.The 16 teams that qualified, eight from each conference, played best-of-seven series for conference quarterfinals, semifinals and championships, then the conference champions played a best-of-seven series for the Stanley Cup.. As Ward wound up, Lucic gained position on defenseman Mike Komisarek and batted the shot out of the air and past Price at 12:13.Kessel, playing in his second straight game after being scratched for Games 2, 3, and 4, gave the Bruins what appeared to be the winner at 15:45. "It's so far from being done. He didn't sulk. After Koivu won yet another faceoff (he was 15 for 21), he raced into the offensive zone, won the puck from Hnidy behind the net, and fed Sergei Kostitsyn, who spotted Christopher Higgins open on the other side. By their own admission, the Bruins aren't the flashiest team in the NHL. "Just 11 seconds later, while the Garden crowd was still buzzing, the Canadiens picked themselves up and tied the game once more. Plekanec sprinted in, threw a head-and-shoulders fake on Tim Thomas, and made it 2-1 at 7:43 of the second period.Vladimir Sobotka, scratched for Game 1, responded at 3:13 of the third, stuffing home a backhand shot after a feed from Peter Schaefer.Montreal delivered yet another knee-buckler when captain Saku Koivu won an offensive-zone draw and the puck landed on the stick of Bouillon, whose floater from the point ticked off the shaft of Hnidy's stick and deflected past Thomas at 10:04. Canadiens 5, Bruins 0.
"We knew we had to win to give ourselves another chance and to play for that Game 7," Chara said. Sportswriter Cam Cole wrote of the series, "Where the whole world stopped for the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens in the spring of 1971, and my heart was crushed by the evil Habs. Boston.com does not share this information or keep it permanently, as it is for the sole purpose of sending this one time e-mail. Every bad bounce that went Montreal's way - a breakaway goal by Tomas Plekanec after he had just stepped out of the penalty box, a Francis Bouillon go-ahead goal off Shane Hnidy's stick - the Bruins shrugged off.And in the end, the Bruins kicked the Canadiens in the teeth when Marco Sturm, with 2:37 remaining in regulation, slammed the rebound of his own shot past goalie Carey Price to provide the 5-4 victory.
"The pressure was about how we had to win or go home. As the Boston defense broke down, Kostitsyn winged a cross-crease pass to Higgins, who slammed it home to make it 4-4 with 4:04 remaining in regulation.But there would be no overtime, no Montreal win, no handshake line, no plans for golf. "He's 20 years old," Ward said. "The job's not done," said Bruins forward Milan Lucic. "There are a lot of plumbers in this locker room," Aaron Ward said.Last night, staring down elimination for the second straight game and going toe-to-toe with a Montreal club that welcomed back its captain, the Bruins brought their hard hats, lunch buckets, and hammers, and fought everything the Canadiens gave them. The Bruins … "Every time Montreal threw a gut-twisting punch, the Bruins fired back. The Bruins dominated 7–3 in Game 5, but the Habs responded with an 8–3 victory in Game 6 and a 4–2 win in Game 7 to knock out the heavily favoured Bruins. It's been a hard-fought battle so far, so we know they're going to come out hard. Game 3: Lightning 7, Bruins 1 Game 4: Friday, Aug. 28, 7:30 p.m. "He maintained his focus. And in the end, the Bruins kicked the Canadiens in the teeth when Marco Sturm, with 2:37 remaining in regulation, slammed the rebound of his … You could see it. Sturm saw to that. "I'm proud of our team," Julien said. They don't have the stars who sell jerseys and attract national TV ratings. The Canadiens win the final three games of the series, sealing it with a Jose Theodore shutout (32 saves) in Game 7. It's easy to sulk and mentally, just pack it up and check out. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, didn't win a regular-season game against Montreal, and were considered a pushover for the Canadiens en route to yet another Stanley Cup.The Bruins are, however, a resilient group that relies on grit, hard work, and perseverance to get through the pressure of the biggest of stages. The Bruins executed a by-the-book breakout - Zdeno Chara making an outlet pass to Krejci, Krejci caroming the puck off the boards to Sturm, Sturm sprinting into the corner to chase down the pass - that ended with a top-shelf shot by Kessel, who charged past a backchecking Koivu to gain position at the far post. The Bruins took a 2-0 lead in the first period of this Game 7 and appeared on the verge of a blowout win, but the Canadiens struck back and tied the score in the second period. "I don't think I've ever played a game like that," said David Krejci, who set up Boston's final two goals (Phil Kessel's second goal gave the Bruins a 4-3 lead with 4:15 to go).