Boston vs. Montreal Game 5 live blog

9:03 Nathan Horton wins it on a rebound goal. Lucic and FFerence set it up with a high pick and roll at blue line for space. Final: BOS 2, MTL 1.

5:18 Holy Cow! Tim Thomas just made save of series, if not 2011 Playoffs. He robbed Brian Gionta on a 2-on-1 by going post to post faster than anyone expected to get his leg on a Gionta wrister ticketed for empty half of net.

4:02 David Krejci just had a greaty chance after an innocent dump in by Dennis Seidenberg. It's OT, you never know what will happen.

2:04 Johnny Boychuk let one crank from point. Carey price saw it whole way.

:57 Tim Thomas has already had to make big saves on Lars Eller and Mathieu Darche.

Second OT period under way

End of first OT: BOS 1, MTL 1; shots: BOS 44, MTL 39

18:25 Carey Price just stoned David Krejci on breakaway, holding near post on stuff attempt. Boston managed just 1 ineffective shot on PP.

16:12 After a bad turnover in its own end, Montreal's Brent Sopel is forced to hook Patrice bergeron to stop breakaway. Bergeron still gets weak shot off.  Boston is 0-2 on the PP in this game and 0-for-14 in series.

16:04 Chara with a bullish rush, only to be denied.

13:45 On ensuing rush, Zdeno Chara makes a save on Mike cammalleri with Tim Thomas scrambling out of position. Second huge save by a Boston skater in this game.

13:33 Mark Recchi just had a great one-time chance after some great work by Patrice Bergeron.

11:15 Thomas with nifty high glove save on a shot from the point. He has 7 saves in OT

10:48 Tim Thomas just made a big save on a James Wisniewski slapper from the point. Wisniewski is still laboring. He played a little less than 13 minutes in regulation.

8:08 Carey Price was almost the goat here. He completely whiffed on a clear and was barely able to fall on the puck before Brad Marchand could poke it home. Crowd derisively chant Carey's name now.

8:01 Both teams have been credited with 3 shots in the period. Seems like so much more.

6:26 PK Subban just made a nice play at the blue line to blunt a rush by Recchi, but then iced the puck.

3:45 Montreal has taken two icings already this period. Dangerous practice in OT

2:11 Both teams have had good chances already. Lucic in slot for Bruins. Gionta with redirected slapper for Montreal.

1:09 Posts will be shorter and less frequesnt in OT. No TV timeouts to help me catch up.

First OT period under way

End of third period: BOS 1, MTL 1; shots: BOS 32, MTL 30

20:00 And, it is OT for the second-straight game. each team had chances to score after Jeff Halpern tied things up, but Montreal had the better of the play in the waning minutes. boston is probably happy to have a lengthy intermission.

15:10 Tomas Plekanec just had a great chance to score the go-ahead goal, beating Zdeno Chara wide with speed before snapping off a tester of a wrister.

13:56. Now, it's tied. Jeff Halpern just scored from the low slot after a pass from Lars Eller. Montreal had been pressuring for quite awhile. Goal: MON, 1-1.

13:39 Almost had a tie game here. Andrei Kostitsyn had a pointp-blank rebound shot that squirted through Tim Thomas 5-hole, only to be kicked wide by his skate at the last second. Michael Cammalleri also had a chance to tie it, by Thomasd flopped and covered.


12:09 This has been Milan Lucic's best game away from the puck in the series. As a result, Boston's first line is dominating on almost every shift. He is more physically involved now. maybe it just took a few games to get warmed up. there is a school of thought, though, that he has ecven more in the tank. If so, he can be truly scary in this series.

9:14 Montreal has had the better of the play since the goal, but Tim Thomas is still having the better of it. He had a huge hand from Brad Marchand, the goal scorer, who laid out and blocked an absolute bomb from the point.

6:56 Boston calls a timeout. The Bruins have lost their aggressiveness since the goal and Montreal is carrying the play.

4:33 It is bedlam here at Garden as Bruins get on the board.; Boston owned the play all period andc were finally rewarded when Brad Marchand banged home the rebound of a Patrice Bergeron shot. Carey Price had no chance. It is Marchand's first postseason goal. Goal: BOS, 1-0

1:05 Brian Gionta had a glorious chance in the first minute, but Tim Thomas followed him across the crease and was able to get his chest on the shot.

Third period under way

End of second period: BOS 0, MTL 0; shots: BOS 21, MTL 16

20:00 We're done with two periods and it is still 0-0. Boston owned the territorially advantage in the second period. What does the next 20 minutes hold?

19:07 It's likely gonna be a junkyard-dog goal that wins this thing and the junkyard dogs are coming out. Brad Marchand just went digging for a puck under Carey Price's pad and when Tomas Plekanec tried to put an end to that, Marchand pivoted and started swinging. Needless to say, that caused quite the commotion, highlighted by Hal Gill occupying two Bruins in the crease. marchand and Plekanec both go for roughing.

17:32 James Wisniewski is back for the Montreal Canadiens, but he has not looked 100 percent since his return. He is struggling.

15:12 While Boston's top line has been dangerous for much of the night, Montreal can't say the same thing about its No. 1 unit. The Gomez line was benched for more than 5 minutes during this period and only have three shifts in the second period. Defensively, they were not very good in Game 4 either. It appears Jacques Martin is not happy with them. Irish Micky Ward is in the house by the way. Gets huge ovation. This series is starting to look like his unforgettable trilogy with Arturo Gatti with both teams staggered repeatedly but refusing to be counted out in the first four-plus games.

10:59 Montreal uses its speed advantage again. A hopeful chip up the wall turns into a a breakaway for Tomas Plekanec, who tries to go 5-hole only to see Tim Thomas squeeze the pads at last second.

10:28 We're more than halfway through this game and there is still no score. While there have been no goals, there has been no shortage of excitement here at Garden. On another front, James Wisniewski has been sighted back on Montreal bench, but has not taken a shift yet.

8:33 Michael Ryder just had a tester from between the circles that handcuffed Carey Price a bit. Ryder, in last 5 periods, has been a completely different player for Boston.

7:51 That was a long time between whistles and Boston cycled for a good portion of it. It has been their best in-zone possession in the three games here tonight. Hal Gill and P.K. Subban were out there for a long shift and Gill is playing huge minutes. He was above 9 minutes after first period. Absence of James Wisniewski has Montreal blue line in a jumble.

3:49 Barring a miracle in the final 4 seconds, Boston is not going to score on this PP, making them 0-for-14 for the series. That, to say the least, is problematic for a team hoping to go deep in the postseason. In fact, Montreal might have had the two best chances on that Boston power play.

1:53 Now, Boston gets its second PP. Travis Moen is in the box for an offensive-zone hold on Chris Kelly. And, no, the BRuins did not try to decline the penalty.

1:11 Mark Recchi just had his second glorious chance of this game, in first minute of second period, but Price got his toe on it and directed it wide.

Second period under way

End of first period: BOS 0, MTL 0; shots: BOS 12, MTL 10

20:00 Boston killed the second power play -- both partials -- and the period ends tied 0-0. What an entertaIning period that was. PLayed at a pace that has not been seen much here in Boston this postseason.

17:11 Now, Boston's PK ends early as Rich peverley takes a disputed goalie interference penalty. Boston is now 0-for-13 in the series on the PP

16:35 Milan Lucic has a breakaway on PP, but Carey Price answers.

15:47 That ends that power play for Montreal. david Desharnais just took a neautral zone intereference penalty to negate the advantage. We'll have 30 seconds of 4-on-4 and then Boston will have 90-second PP. Boston's Chris kelly had best chance on Montreal's power play, engineering a shorthanded breakaway that fizzled when he got too close to Carey Price and lost control of the puck.

14:16 First penalty of game. Andrew Ference is going for clear hold in defensive zone. Montreal used its speed to draw that penalty. Tim Thomas had to make 3 big saves before whistle finally blew. Now Boston must contain a dangerous power play. Lucky for them, the Cammalleri line was just out. Unlucky for them, a TV timeout preceeded the start of the power play.

13:24 Zdeno Chara just rocked Ryan White as he tried to enter the attacking zone. There was some contact with the stanchion at end of Boston bench, but White was right back in the play and tried to bowl over Patrice Bergeron, who stood his ground.

12:09 The Cammalleri line is creating opportunities tonight. Dangerous everytime they are on the ice. Cammalleri has been best player offensively in this series so far.

10:38 Back at other end now. David Krejci just had a golden opportunity after Carey Price turned over the puck behind his own net. Somehow, he got back between the pipes and denied Krejci's 1-timer. This is the best 10-minute stretch of the series, in my opinion.

7:32 Now, we go the other way. Montreal had a yawning net with Tim Thomas down and out of position, but somehow Michael Ryder made a sprawling save. Tuukka Rask better watch out, he could slide down the depth chart.

6:56 Oh my. What a glorious chance for Boston. Patrice Bergeron was all alone on carey price's doorstep but couldn't bang home rebound of shot by Milan Lucic.

5:44 Still no score, but several chances. Boston's D is much more settled than it was early in the series. It's amazing what a bit of confidence will do. Shots are 4-4.

2:24 Great pace in first two-plus minutes. each team has had a good scoring chance and there have been several big hits. Either the Bruins are inaccurate shooters, by the way, or they like the way Carey Price moves about his crease on shots just wide of his net. He tends to get a little scrambly and Boston exploited that twice in Game 4.

7:15 p.m. And we're off! Should be a transfixing night of hockey. Tell you one thing, it will be a loud night of hockey. this crowd is primed.

7:09 p.m. Both teams are starting the same lineups that played in Game 4, whichj isn't really a surprise. By the way, Tim Thomas just led the Bruins onto the ice and I must say his mustache is taking on mythical porportions. It is epic and suits him to a T. Only a minute or two until Rene Rencourt takes the roof of this place with his renditions of O' Canada and Star-Spangled Banner.


7:05 p.m. The Bruins have this new tradition where they have an alum or celebrity start of a giant black-and-gold flag that goes around the arena before the game. Tonight, that honorary captain is Lyndon Byers. That's so cool. When I was a teenager growing up in Rhode island, byers was always one of my favorite players to watch. He took nothing from nobody and took on all comers. He was a gamer. I have met him a few times since and he has always been a good guy. Has made quite a post-playing career as a radio man on the WAAF morning show. 

6:52 p.m. Even with all the travelling I have been doing this past week, I know I am in Boston. After all, AC/DC is on the PA system (Hell's Bells) and the crowd is roaring. These are givens in this building. I'm here for Game 5, after a brief 36-hour sabbatical after a trip to Lake Placid, to see who will take control of this series. Will Boston finally find the formula to win at home and move to within a game of eliminating their hated rivals? Or will the Montreal Canadiens steal home ice again and take contyrol of the series heading back to Montreal for Game 6. I will tell you one thing, the setup for the final stretch of this series makes things interesting. They play game 5 tonight, don'y play again until Tuesday in  Montreal for game 6 and then, if necessary, Game 7 will be back here less than 24 hours later. Already planning what time I will have to wake up Wednesday morning in Montreal to start my drive back to Boston. Not digging the options.