National Hockey League Playoff Game Capsules

Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) – P.K. Subban’s power-play goal 4:17 into the second overtime gave the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of this Original Six Eastern Conference semifinal matchup. Boston’s Matt Bartkowski was called for holding at 4:10 of the second overtime and Montreal won the faceoff at the left circle. Andrei Markov eventually got the puck to Subban in the high slot and the defenseman fired a slap shot through traffic, knocking a water bottle into the air with his second goal of the game that gave the Canadiens the early series lead. No strangers in postseason play, these two squads are meeting in the playoffs for a 34th time, with the Bruins having taken six of the last nine series. However, it’s Montreal that has gained the home ice advantage in this series, and will look to repeat its success when Game 2 is set to take place in Boston on Saturday afternoon. Rene Bourque had a goal and an assist and Francis Bouillon also scored for the Canadiens, who cruised past the Tampa Bay Lightning in the quarterfinals with a four-game sweep. Carey Price, who posted a 2.33 goals against average and .904 save percentage in the opening round, stopped 48 shots in the victory. Tuukka Rask, who came into the game leading all playoff goaltenders with a 1.16 GAA and .961 save percentage during Boston’s five-game defeat of Detroit in the first round, gave up the four goals on 33 shots. Reilly Smith, Torey Krug and Johnny Boychuk all scored in the loss for Boston, which has the top overall seed in the playoffs as the Presidents’ Trophy champions.

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