Midway through the second period and no score. The tempo is still high, but not as frantic as both teams become more cognizant of not making mistakes.

"The key for us try to get more pressure and spend more time in offensive zone," Montreal coach Jacques Martin told Versus' Darren Pang after a TV timeout.

Not more than a minute later, Tomas Plekanec had a great chance for the Habs when he snuck in from right wing. But Tim Thomas came across to meet him and wound up sliding halfway to the side boards with the puck under his pads. Thomas has 14 saves, while Montreal's Carey Price has 18.

The Bruins got their second power play when Travis Moen was called for tackling Chris Kelly 1:53 into the second period. But Montreal nearly scored a shorthanded goal when Jeff Halpern poked the free from Tomas Kaberle to start a 2-on-1 break. However, Halpern opted to pass rather than shoot – only to have a sliding Zdeno Chara block the pass.

The Habs got a second 2-on-1 break during the same penalty, but Thomas broke up a pass and started a 3-on-2 the other way. Still, Montreal killed off the power play, leaving the Bruins 0-for-14 with the extra man through four-plus games.

We're through one period in Boston, with neither team able to put the puck in the net.

But it wasn't for want of opportunities. Montreal had some excellent chances among its 10 shots, though the best one – a wide-open shot by Tomas Plekanec that was foiled by forward Michael Ryder – doesn't count in that figure. The Bruins had 12, including a great opportunity by slump-ridden Milan Lucic in the final minutes.

No player on either team had more than two shots as we saw the first scoreless opening period in the series.

Michael Ryder won Game 4 by scoring the OT winner. If the Bruins win Game 5, it will be in part because he pinch-hit for goaltender Tim Thomas.

Michael Cammalleri outraced the defense, tried to deke Thomas, then saw teammate Tomas Plekanec all alone in the slot. He dished a perfect pass for what looked like a sure goal – only to have Ryder dive across and get it with his right glove ... a save any goaltender would have been proud of.

"That was a big save. Unbelievable," coach Claude Julien told Versus' Darren Pang coming out of the second TV timeout midway through the period.

The Bruins got back in the series by generating traffic in front of Carey Price, and, well, why mess with a winning formula?

The B's had two good rushes in the early minutes that just missed – and both were marked by plenty of black sweaters flooding the Montreal zone. That’s the kind of game the Bruins want to play – as opposed to the Canadiens, who want to use their speed to counteract their lack of size.

We're up to the first TV timeout – with no score.

Hope you're all refreshed and ready for the evening portion of our big day of hockey, beginning with Game 5 between the Bruins and Canadiens from Boston.

TD Garden in Boston is packed with 17,565 fans – many of whom a week ago probably thought they'd be spending their Saturday night doing something else. A week ago, Montreal went home after sweeping the first two games in Boston. But the Bruins returned the favor by winning Games 3 and 4 in Montreal, pulling even by beating the Habs 5-4 in overtime.

So who wins – can the Habs continue the success road teams have had in this series (and the first round of the playoffs in general)? Or will the Bruins find a way to keep rolling?

Canucks defenseman Dan Hamhuis was playing in the United Center last season for the Nashville Predators when they lost a gut-wrenching Game 5 to the Hawks in overtime.

In fact, Hamhuis was injured on a hit from behind by Marian Hossa with time running down in the third period. Hossa got a boarding major, but the Hawks tied the game shorthanded with 13.6 seconds left in regulation -- and then Hossa won it in overtime.

Until Friday night's overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks, the Predators had never won a Game 5 in the playoffs -- which Hamhuis was glad to see from afar, now with Vancouver.

"They have a great group of guys over there and it's an organization that on paper seems to do so much with a lower grade payroll," Hamhuis said. 'It's great to see that they're having success and got over that hump in that Game 5 victory."

As for his own series, Hamhuis said it would be sweet to oust the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks on Sunday in Game 6 – the Canucks lead the series 3-2.

"I think for everybody in here it would be," Hamhuis said. "This is (Vancouver's) third crack at them. It was a tough series for us last year (with Nashville). We thought we should've won. So, a lot of guys would like to shake hands with them victoriously."

Despite having had some of his worst performances in the United Center, Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo still maintains that he likes playing here. The last time he was here, for Game 4 of this series, the Hawks put six goals on him in a 7-2 win and Luongo was pulled early in the third period.

Two years ago he gave up seven goals in a 7-5 loss in Game 6 that ended that Western Conference Semifinal series. Still, he says bring it on to Hawks fans.

"I love it," Luongo said of the hostile crowd. "I've always said I like to play in this building. It's fun. I love it when the crowd yells at me, even when I got pulled (in Game 4). That's what's fun about playing hockey, being part of environments like that. You can't always have people on your side. When they're against you, I kind of enjoy it a little bit more."

The Canucks' star twin forwards -- Henrik and Daniel Sedin -- have just one goal (by Daniel), no assists and a combined minus-9 rating in the past two games. Still, defenseman Kevin Bieksa said the twins get far too much criticism when things go wrong for Vancouver.

If you're looking for blame for the Canucks only scoring two goals in the past two games, Bieksa said to look at the team as a whole.

"They're our top guys and they're expected to perform offensively for us, but one of our strengths all year has been our secondary scoring," he said. "I don't think you can really look at (the Sedins) and blame them for the lack of goals. Defensively we have to step up and score a few more and our second and third lines have to get pucks on the net, too. You can't blame two guys."

If Brent Seabrook is able to play in Game 6 for Chicago, that means Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville will have an interesting decision on his hands regarding 6-foot-8, 258-pound enforcer John Scott -- who's actually had a larger role in this series than most would've expected.

Since Seabrook was hurt with a hit by Raffi Torres in Game 3, Scott has played and provided a physical presence for the Hawks in a pair of blowout wins -- games in which play got chippy.

"They have a couple guys that like to finish their hits and stir it up kind of, and with him on the ice it seems like everything quiets down," Hawks forward Bryan Bickell said of Scott. "I wouldn't want to have a guy coming at me, who's 6-8 and starting to stir up stuff, so I think it's good to have his presence on the ice."

Troy Brouwer agreed and said this kind of hard-hitting series is tailor-made for Scott.

"When he's on the ice, his stature might be a little intimidating or guys don't want to be around him, but he's in the mix," Brouwer said. "He's getting hits on the Sedins. He got hit by Torres last game pretty hard and he likes that kind of stuff. He's in there and battling, having fun."

Scott has been a healthy scratch for much of the regular season, but always seems to have a smile on his face off the ice -- not to mention some golden quips to fill up reporters' notebooks.

"It's funny, because for such a big guy and such a big body he's such a great guy, such a nice guy and brings that laughter and evenness that we need right now," Brouwer said. "Having him around and even having him on the ice has been a big impact, I think."

Would Brouwer go so far as to say he's this team's version of Adam Burish, who always had a gaggle of reporters crowded around his locker stall because of his clever remarks?

"No, I don't think (Scott's) quite as witty with the beak, but he's always keeping us laughing, keeping us on our toes and having some fun," Brouwer said, laughing. "Didn't matter if we were struggling during the season or in the playoffs, he was always there for that comic relief, I guess.”