Bruins - Inside Shots

Hold the postmortems. The Bruins are still playing hockey—at least for one more night.

It’s still a longshot, and the numbers say only 20 of the 223 previous teams down 3-1 in a best-of-seven series have come back to win. History also says the Bruins have never rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win a series—and the Canadiens have never blown a 3-1 lead.

But the Bruins also were 0-6 in Game 5s against the Canadiens when down 3-1 in a series. That went out the window Thursday night in Montreal and because it did the teams will play Game 6 on Saturday night in Boston.

Not only did the Bruins beat the Canadiens on their home ice Thursday, they scored five goals (four in the third period) and made rookie Carey Price look vulnerable for the first time in his young playoff career. They found ways to beat the kid, the kid found ways to beat himself and now the Bruins have to feel confident bringing the series back home.

Remember, the Bruins have been outplayed only once in the first five games. They lost Game 2 in overtime, with the help of a shaky call, won Game 3 and lost Game 4 by just 1-0. They then scored the convincing win when facing elimination.

The numbers say “no way,” but who knows?

Bruins 5, Canadiens 1: They just wouldn’t go away.

“It’s a good feeling, we knew what we were facing tonight, and that’s how we approached it,” captain Zdeno Chara said after the big win, produced with four goals in the third period, staved off elimination for this gritty group. “We played really desperate hockey. We gave up the first goal, but we never gave up.”

Phil Kessel, brought back from a three-game exile, scored the first goal, Glen Metropolit took advantage of a Carey Price mistake for his first goal in 34 games (Price dropping the puck for him), Chara scored on the power play, Marco Sturm scored shorthanded, and Vladimir Sobotka scored a gift goal on which Price made what looked like a half-hearted effort.

Defenseman Andrew Ference picked up three assists and David Krejci two in the win.

Notes, Quotes

• The Bruins had lost 14 of their last 15 games against the Canadiens before scoring five straight goals to win in Montreal on Thursday night. That forced Game 6, in Boston, Saturday night.

• The Bruins, who ranked 14th among the 16 playoff teams in goals scored this season, had five in the first four games of the playoffs and five Thursday. They had five goals in the last five games overall and have been shut out in two of them.

• The Bruins were 2-for-5 on the power play Thursday night after going 1-for-21 in their last six games, 7-for-68 over their last 18. They are 6-for-53 against the Canadiens this season, 3-for-22 in this series.

• Meanwhile, Montreal, which had the league’s top power play during the regular season, was 0-for-4 Thursday and is just 2-for-24 in this series, but both scores have been game winners.

• Thursday night marked the 159th playoff game between the two rivals, tops in the NHL.

• The Bruins have won just one playoff series in the last seven seasons.

Quote To Note: “That’s the kind of team we are. We’re not a flashy bunch of guys.”—Bruins center Glen Metropolit after his fluke goal broke the 1-1 tie and sent the Bruins on the way to their 5-1 win in Game 5 on Thursday night.

Roster Report

Goaltenders: Tim Thomas, Alex Auld.

Defensemen: Zdeno Chara, Dennis Wideman, Andrew Ference, Andrew Alberts, Shane Hnidy, Mark Stuart.

First Line: Marco Sturm, David Krejci, Glen Murray.

Second Line: Milan Lucic, Marc Savard, Phil Kessel.

Third Line: P.J. Axelsson, Glen Metropolit, Petteri Nokelainen.

Player Notes:

• G Tim Thomas made 31 saves in helping the Bruins extend their season with a win in Montreal on Thursday night. He has started 13 of the last 14 games.

• RW Phil Kessel, the team’s No. 5 scorer in the regular season, returned after spending three games as a healthy scratch because of his lack of a physical game. He scored the Bruins’ first goal. “It’s huge for our team,” said center Marc Savard. “We haven’t scored for a game and a half (when he scored) and it’s huge for him, too.”

• D Aaron Ward missed the game with a left knee injury, putting D Andrew Alberts back in the lineup.

• LW Jeremy Reich was also a scratch with Kessel back in the lineup.

• C Glen Metropolit had his first goal since Feb. 5, ending a 33-game drought.

• RW Glen Murray hasn’t scored in the last 10.

• LW Marco Sturm ended an eight-game goal-less streak with his shorthanded goal in the third period.

• D Andrew Ference, who had one point in the first four games of the series, had three assists in the game.

• C David Krejci, who had one point in the first four games, had two assists Thursday night.