NEW YORK -- For the ninth time in their 34 lifetime Stanley Cup Playoff series, the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens will face off in a winner-take-all Game 7 Wednesday night at TD Garden in Boston (7 p.m., ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS). The winner will advance to the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Second Round series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers, who contest Game 7 tonight in Pittsburgh.
No rivalry in major pro sports has featured as many Game 7 showdowns as Bruins-Canadiens. Other longtime "Original Six" rivals, the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, have squared off six times in a Game 7, as have the NBA's Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers.
The Canadiens have won five of the eight Game 7s against Boston but the Bruins captured the most recent contest, a 4-3 overtime victory at TD Garden on April 27, 2011. Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban scored the game-tying goal with just 1:57 remaining in regulation to force overtime and Boston forward Nathan Horton tallied the series winner at 5:43 of extra time.
The Bruins will be skating in a Game 7 for the seventh consecutive season, establishing an NHL record. Boston had been tied with the Colorado Avalanche, participants in six consecutive years from 1998 through 2003. Of the eight Game 7s the Bruins have contested since the streak began in 2008, six have been decided by one goal, including four in overtime.
Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara will be making his 11th career Game 7 appearance, passing Martin Brodeur, Andrew Ference and Scott Gomez (10) for the most among active players. Boston's Claude Julien will be behind the bench for his 10th Game 7, tying Mike Keenan for the most in NHL history among head coaches.
Other Game 7 Notes
* Home teams are 91-61 (.599) in 152 Game 7s all-time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* The team that scores first is 112-40 (.737).
* 38 Game 7s have required overtime (38-of-152, 25.0%). Home and road teams are 19-19.
| CAREER GAME 7 PLAYER, GOALTENDER AND COACHING STATISTICS | |||||
| Boston | GP | W-L | G | A | Pts. |
| Matt Bartkowski | 1 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Patrice Bergeron | 8 | 4-4 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Johnny Boychuk | 6 | 4-2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Gregory Campbell | 5 | 4-1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jordan Caron | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zdeno Chara | 10 | 4-6 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Loui Eriksson | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dougie Hamilton | 1 | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jarome Iginla | 4 | 1-3 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Chris Kelly | 5 | 4-1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| David Krejci | 7 | 4-3 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Milan Lucic | 8 | 4-4 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Brad Marchand | 5 | 4-1 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Adam McQuaid | 4 | 4-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Andrej Meszaros | 1 | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Paille | 6 | 4-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Seidenberg | 8 | 6-2 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Shawn Thornton | 6 | 3-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GP | Mins | W-L | GAA | Sv% | |
| Tuukka Rask | 2 | 124 | 1-1 | 3.87 | .855 |
| Date | Score | Dec. | Shots | ||
| 5/13/13 | TOR 4 at BOS 5 (OT) | Win | 28 | ||
| 5/14/10 | PHI 4 at BOS 3 | Loss | 27 | ||
| Head coach: Claude Julien (5-4) | |||||
| Date | Score | Dec. | |||
| 4/25/12 | WSH 2 at BOS 1 (OT) | Loss | |||
| 6/15/11 | BOS 4 at VAN 0 | Win | |||
| 5/27/11 | T.B. 0 at BOS 1 | Win | |||
| 4/27/11 | MTL 3 at BOS 4 (OT) | Win | |||
| 5/14/10 | PHI 4 at BOS 3 | Loss | |||
| 5/14/09 | CAR 3 at BOS 2 (OT) | Loss | |||
| 4/21/08 | BOS 0 at MTL 5 | Loss | |||
| 4/19/04 | MTL 2 at BOS 0 | Win | |||
| Montreal | GP | W-L | G | A | Pts. |
| Francis Bouillon | 2 | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Briere | 4 | 3-1 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Lars Eller | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian Gionta | 6 | 4-2 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Josh Gorges | 3 | 3-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrei Markov | 3 | 3-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Travis Moen | 3 | 2-1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Douglas Murray | 2 | 2-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tomas Plekanec | 4 | 3-1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Brandon Prust | 2 | 2-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| P.K. Subban | 3 | 2-1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Thomas Vanek | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Weaver | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryan White | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GP | Mins | W-L | GAA | Sv% | |
| Carey Price | 2 | 125 | 1-1 | 1.91 | .932 |
| Date | Score | Dec. | Shots | ||
| 4/27/11 | MTL 3 at BOS 4 (OT) | Loss | 34 | ||
| 4/21/08 | BOS 0 at MTL 5 | Win | 25 | ||
| Head coach: Michel Therrien (0-0) | |||||
Boston Bruins in Game 7 (13-11)
5/13/13, Eastern Conference QF vs. Toronto (TOR 4 at BOS 5, OT)
4/25/12, Eastern Conference QF vs. Washington (WSH 2 at BOS 1, OT)
6/15/11, Stanley Cup Final vs. Vancouver (BOS 4 at VAN 0)
5/27/11, Eastern Conference Final vs. Tampa Bay (T.B. 0 at BOS 1)
4/27/11, Eastern Conference QF vs. Montreal (MTL 3 at BOS 4, OT)
5/14/10, Eastern Conference SF vs. Philadelphia (PHI 4 at BOS 3)
5/14/09, Eastern Conference SF vs. Carolina (CAR 3 at BOS 2, OT)
4/21/08, Eastern Conference QF vs. Montreal (BOS 0 at MTL 5)
4/19/04, Eastern Conference QF vs. Montreal (MTL 2 at BOS 0)
4/29/94, Eastern Conference QF vs. Montreal (MTL 3 at BOS 5)
5/1/92, Adams Division SF vs. Buffalo (BUF 2 at BOS 3)
4/29/91, Adams Division Final vs. Montreal (MTL 1 at BOS 2)
4/17/90, Adams Division Semifinal vs. Hartford (HFD 1 at BOS 3)
5/14/88, Prince of Wales Conference Final vs. New Jersey (N.J. 2 at BOS 6)
4/24/83, Adams Division Final vs. Buffalo (BUF 2 at BOS 3, OT)
4/25/82, Adams Division Final vs. Quebec (QUE 2 at BOS 1)
5/10/79, Semifinal vs. Montreal (BOS 4 at MTL 5, OT)
4/25/76, Quarterfinal vs. Los Angeles (L.A. 0 at BOS 3)
4/18/71, Quarterfinal vs. Montreal (MTL 4 at BOS 2)
4/7/59, Semifinal vs. Toronto (TOR 3 at BOS 2)
4/8/52, Semifinal vs. Montreal (BOS 1 at MTL 3)
4/3/45, Semifinal vs. Detroit (BOS 3 at DET 5)
4/3/41, Semifinal vs. Toronto (TOR 1 at BOS 2)
4/2/39, Semifinal vs. NY Rangers (NYR 1 at BOS 2, 3OT)
Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 (13-9)
4/27/11, Eastern Conference QF vs. Boston (MTL 3 at BOS 4, OT)
5/12/10, Eastern Conference SF vs. Boston (MTL 5 at PIT 2)
4/28/10, Eastern Conference QF vs. Washington (MTL 2 at WSH 1)
4/21/08, Eastern Conference QF vs. Boston (BOS 0 at MTL 5)
4/19/04, Eastern Conference QF vs. Boston (MTL 2 at BOS 0)
4/29/94, Eastern Conference QF vs. Boston (MTL 3 at BOS 5)
5/1/92, Adams Division SF vs. Hartford (HFD 2 at MTL 3, 2OT)
4/29/91, Adams Division Final vs. Boston (MTL 1 at BOS 2)
5/2/87, Adams Division Final vs. Quebec (QUE 3 at MTL 5)
4/29/86, Adams Division Final vs. Hartford (HFD 1 at MTL 2, OT)
5/2/85, Adams Division Final vs. Quebec (QUE 3 at MTL 2, OT)
4/27/80, Quarterfinal vs. Minnesota (MIN 3 at MTL 2)
5/10/79, Semifinal vs. Boston (BOS 4 at MTL 5, OT)
5/18/71, Final vs. Chicago (MTL 3 at CHI 2)
4/18/71, Quarterfinal vs. Boston (MTL 4 at BOS 2)
5/1/65, Final vs. Chicago (CHI 0 at MTL 4)
4/9/64, Semifinal vs. Toronto (TOR 3 at MTL 1)
4/14/55, Final vs. Detroit (MTL 1 at DET 3)
4/16/54, Final vs. Detroit (MTL 1 at DET 2, OT)
4/7/53, Semifinal vs. Chicago (CHI 1 at MTL 4)
4/8/52, Semifinal vs. Boston (BOS 1 at MTL 3)
4/5/49, Semifinal vs. Detroit (MTL 1 at DET 3)
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