Bruins Knockout Habs; Advance to Conference Semifinals

By Chris in Bruins, Featured, Top Story ⋅ April 22, 2009 at 10:13pm ⋅ Post a comment

In a near-perfect performance, the Bruins completed the sweep of the Canadiens with a 4-1 victory. Montreal drew first blood, with a goal by Andrei Kostitsyn 39 seconds into the game. However, that was as close as the Canadiens came to winning this one. Without any true rhythm, the Canadiens couldn’t contain the Bruins. Seventeen and a half minutes into the first, Michael Ryder tied the game for the Bruins, his third goal of the playoffs, at 1-1 and they never looked back. Two minutes later, David Krejci added a goal giving the Bruins a 2-1 lead.

In the second, the Bruins sealed the fate of the Canadiens, after a big penalty kill, Patrice Bergeron made a heads-up pass to Phil Kessel as he just exited the penalty box, igniting the most intense play of the game. The Canadiens were caught out of position and with Kessel flying towards the net, the only man left was Carey Price. Kessel shot to the left of Price and the Bruins were up 3-1. Not even one minute later, the Krejci/Ryder combo struck again, this time with Krejci scoring off of beautiful across the net pass from Ryder. Price was in no position to make the save and Krejci capitalized, making it 4-1. To close out the second, Milan Lucic and Mike Komisarek were involved in some extracurricular activities. Lucic took out Komisarek with a strangle and a quick punch to head.

In the third, Komisarek went after Lucic and was hit with game misconduct and cross checking penalties. The Canadiens weren’t able to make any progress against the Bruins defense to close out the game. On the Canadien’s best chance, with Thomas out of position, Chara was able to intercept the pass and stop what would have been an easy goal.

The Bruins are really starting to hit their stride at exactly the right time. Last year’s playoff experiences along with the growth of the team this season are giving the Bruins the tools they need to succeed in the NHL playoffs.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for Round Two at 11AM: check bostonbruins.com for all the details.

Tags: Bruins, NHL Playoffs

Discussion

One comment for “Bruins Knockout Habs; Advance to Conference Semifinals”

It’s about damn time! Since the Bruins’ last playoff series win in 1999…the Patriots have gone from 5-11 to three-time Super Bowl champions and two coaches (Pete Carroll and Belichick).

The Sox have gone through four managers (Jimy Williams, Joe Kerrigan, Grady Little, Terry Francona) and won two World Series.

The Celtics have gone through four coaches (the nightmare Rick Pitino, Jim O’Brien, John Carroll, and Doc Rivers). They also won their 17th NBA title.

As for the Bruins, they’ve faced disappointment for far too long. I love that they won their first playoff series in a decade by SWEEPING the Canadiens. But, they should’ve done this. They were clearly the superior team all season, dominating the Eastern Conference from start to finish.

They go four lines deep and definitley look poised to push for the Stanley Cup. Hopefully bring on the Rangers!

Posted by KC | April 23, 2009, 5:14 am