Bruins vs Canadiens

BROSSARD, Quebec -- It was sort of a joke, but in reality it said everything that needs to be said about the Montreal Canadiens.

Center David Desharnais was asked Sunday if the Canadiens need to make any adjustments heading into Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Boston Bruins on Monday at Bell Centre (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS), the type of question you hear on a daily basis in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"Yeah," Desharnais quipped, "put it in the net when you have to."

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins power play failed to convert on its first two chances and part of a third in the first period of Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at TD Garden.

During carryover time early in the second period, Boston forward Reilly Smith thought he'd broken the Bruins' 0-for-10 slump, which dated to the previous four games in the series, two or three times.

With 49 seconds elapsed in the period, Smith was robbed by Canadiens goaltender Carey Price on a shot from 10 feet. It looked like the power play would stay in the doldrums.

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins have been searching for a reliable two-way third line almost since the day right wing Michael Ryder packed his bags as a free agent and left a hole next to center Chris Kelly and forward Rich Peverley after the 2011 Stanley Cup championship season.

With center Carl Soderberg and right wing Loui Eriksson getting rookie Matt Fraser to join their line, the Bruins' search might be over.

The three combined for six points in the Bruins' 4-2 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at TD Garden. The Bruins now lead the series 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Monday at Bell Centre (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

"Well, I mean it's happened to us in the past. Anytime that we've had more than just two lines that can be a scoring threat, that's really helped," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "Carl Soderberg's line has been arguably our best line so far in this series and they make things happen. So you've got to give them a lot of credit. It certainly takes a lot of pressure off the other lines."

BOSTON -- Saturday began with Max Pacioretty saying he needed to find a way to make an impact for the Montreal Canadiens in their Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Boston Bruins.

It ended with him and many of his fellow teammates still looking for offense following a 4-2 loss in Game 5 that gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Defenseman P.K. Subban scored his fourth goal of the series at 17:31 of the third period to give the Canadiens a glimmer of hope, but the problem has become that the rest of the team has combined to score nine goals in five games, seven at even strength.

"We have to be better 5-on-5," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said.

BOSTON -- Desperation.

It's a word that gets tossed around with great frequency this time of year and for the first time in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens are being forced to use it.

The notion of playing desperate hockey has been around almost as long as the game itself, but how to do it effectively is what separates the great teams from those that are merely good.

The Boston Bruins had it in Game 4 of this Eastern Conference Second Round series when, facing a 2-1 deficit in a hostile Bell Centre against an arch rival, they entered trying to avoid falling into a 3-1 hole the franchise has never climbed out of in 21 attempts over 90 years.

BOSTON -- During a 14-game stint with the Boston Bruins over the winter, forward Matt Fraser scored two goals and had a couple fights.

He was doing whatever he could to make an impression in his first season in the Boston organization during his first call-up.

In his debut in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre, Fraser found a way to make a huge statement.

Fraser’s game-winning goal in overtime evened the best-of-7 series 2-2 heading into Game 5 on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS) at TD Garden. Back home where the Bruins held an optional skate Fraser did not take part in Friday, the 23-year-old wing was his humble self a little more than 12 hours after his heroics.

BROSSARD, Quebec -- The inability of Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais to make an offensive impact in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is beginning to wear on Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien.

Friday, a day after the Canadiens' 1-0 loss at home to the Boston Bruins in Game 4 that tied their best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round series 2-2, Therrien was asked about his top two offensive players all season.

His answer, while not directly naming them, was revealing.

MONTREAL -- It's back to square one for the Montreal Canadiens.

Rookie Matt Fraser's goal at 1:19 of overtime gave the Boston Bruins a 1-0 victory in Game 4 on Thursday and evened the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round series with the Canadiens at 2-2.

The home-ice advantage Montreal had gained by winning Game 1 in Boston is gone.

Any sense of momentum the Canadiens might have had? That's gone too.

And finally, any mental edge Montreal might have built on Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask, who entered Game 4 with an .884 save percentage in the series, is also gone.

"We are prepared for a long series," Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said. "That was our goal, to stretch it as long as we can."

MONTREAL -- The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a riveting experience because of just how random they can be.

One day you're eating a double chicken burrito with guacamole for lunch, wondering what you will do with your day, and the next you're giving the season of the team with the NHL's best regular season record a second wind.

One second you look over your left shoulder for a puck that took a strange bounce in front of your net, and the next second you realize you should have looked over your right.

This is how the lives of Matt Fraser and Carey Price crossed paths Thursday night -- a 23-year-old playing his first career playoff game the day after he was summoned from the American Hockey League and a goalie who is among the best in the world at his position.

MONTREAL -- What's the best way for a Vezina Trophy finalist to prove that his .884 save percentage through three games of a playoff series is an anomaly?

Pitch a shutout, of course.

That's what Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask did Thursday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Montreal Canadiens.

Rask stopped all 33 shots he faced to hold down the fort before the Bruins could win 1-0 in overtime at Bell Centre and even the best-of-7 series at 2-2 heading back to Boston for Game 5 on Saturday (7 p.m., NBCSN, CBC, RDS).