Montreal seemed pleased and excited by this draw. Perhaps they were expecting an easy four or five game sweep of the Sens. The Ottawa Senators had been battling injuries, and were playing with more heart and more AHL players than any other team in the league. Like it says on the Senators home web site, after eighty-six years a historic rivalry has been re-born.

Ottawa only needed five games to take the best-of-seven series. 4-1 This will be the first time the Senators are moving onto the second round of the playoffs since 2007. Back then, the Senators lost in the Stanley Cup finals to the Anaheim Ducks. (Shawn Thornton was a member of the Ducks squad back then.)

In the defense of Montreal, the team had suffered through a string of injuries entering the playoffs and the number of their players falling off in the postseason only acerbated their problems. PK Subban was able to score one for the Habs, but Craig Anderson became a wall for Ottawa. (While penalties plagued Ottawa throughout the game, Anderson had an outstanding evening.)  On the other end,  Peter Budaj was subjected to a barrage of shots from all sorts of angles. It got so bad, the Kyle Turris‘ backside was able to score a goal of Budaj. (It was probably the rear end’s first goal, and it was a shorthanded one at that.)

In the end, the points just kept adding up. Three power play goals by Ottawa in the third closed the door on Montreal. The end was a 6-1 blowout and an affirmation of the Senators endurance. Paul MacLean has practically wrapped up the Coach of the Year honors for what he has been given and what he has done with it. So, congratulations to the Ottawa Senators!

May 9, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Ottawa Senators left wing Cory Conacher (89) celebrates his goal against Montreal Canadiens goalie Peter Budaj (30) with teammates during the third period in game five of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

Mar 27, 2013; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg (44) keeps the puck away from Montreal Canadiens right wing Brendan Gallagher (11) during the second period at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

On Saturday night, the Boston Bruins will once again have a chance to beat the Montreal Canadiens and overtake them for first place in the Northeast Division.

Just a short nine days ago, the Bruins and Canadiens squared off in Boston with the same situation as tomorrow night. Whoever wins takes first place in the division. The aforementioned game did not end how Boston fans would have liked. A game that was filled with scoring, hard hits and emotion saw the Bruins take a 6-5 loss in a shootout. Former Bruin Michael Ryder scored two goals in the win for Montreal while Patrice Bergeron had a goal and three assists for Boston.

Going into the previous game against Montreal on March 27, the Bruins had lost three of their last five games and were wondering if their offense had gone missing. This time around, the B’s have won three straight games and have a whole different look to their lineup. The Bruins will be without their best player, Patrice Bergeron, due to a concussion, but have picked up veteran Jaromir Jagr from the Dallas Stars and Kaspars Daugavins from the Ottawa Senators.

Every matchup between the Bruins and Canadiens this season has been a one-goal game. Of the three games thus far, Montreal have won two, outscoring Boston 11-10. The Canadiens are also hot right now. They have won four of their last five, scoring twenty goals in those five games. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod in goal for Boston, as both Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin have played outstanding of late. My gut feeling says that Coach Claude Julien will give Rask the start. Tuukka had one of his best games all season against the Devils on Thursday night stopping all 40 shots he faced.

This game will definitely be a dogfight, as both these teams fight for first place in the Northeast Division in what should be another classic game in this always-heated rivalry.

Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Mar 27, 2013; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Tyler Seguin (19) is congratulated by center Brad Marchand (63) and center Patrice Bergeron (37) after a goal against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

It took me a whole day to look at this one and as be as deliberate as possible. (Believe me, the first three copies had a few colorful adjectives that would have certain Habs players attempting things that are anatomically impossible.) One version of this had the linesmen getting the Third Star of the Game. Yes, Tuukka gave up some soft goals. We had some defensive breakdowns early in the game that ended up costing us. In the end, the referees missed several blatant calls. I was there, and was at ground zero for the Johnson ‘delay of game’ penalty.

This just isn’t about a case of taking a loss and bouncing back. For me, it’s a situation where the game was given away not just by the Bruins but the referees. If any of you watched the game, there were blatant hits by Montreal that were ignored by the linesmen. The ‘delay of game’ penalty was borderline criminal. In the end, we got to watch Tuukka flip out and fall down at the end of the game. It was the stamp on the game.

The bright side of this whole mess, is that we got to see why the Bruins have the best second line in the NHL. The Bergeron line put up another nine points and demonstrated why they are young, dangerous, and worthy of the respect of the entire league.

March 27, 2013

Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens (Boston @ TD Garden)

Final Score: Montreal Canadiens 6 – Boston Bruins 5 (SO)

Three Stars of the Game:

Third: Tyler Seguin , Second: Patrice Bergeron, First: Michael Ryder

Causeway Crowd’s Three Stars of the Game:

Third Star: Brad Marchand. The Little Ball of Hate once again did his job against the Montreal Canadiens. He put up the second goal, and got an assist on the fifth. He racked up an additional +3, and did his job keeping the Habs honest. My ‘Bruins brother’ suggested of all the players he’d like to see get mic’d up for the game, he’d love to hear what Marchy’s saying to the other team. (They’ll probably need to put the seven second delay on him though.) Marchand’s still in the top twenty in the NHL for shot percentage (23.3%), and he’s still leads the team in goals (14).

Second Star: Tyler Seguin. The second line’s other winger did even better against the Habs. He garnered assists on the first two Bruins goals, and scored on the fifth one. He also put in a +3, and its great to see Seguin play physical hockey. He’s working hard to battle and it’s great to see him be a bigger physical presence.

First Star: Patrice Bergeron. Is there anything in the game that Patrice Bergeron can’t do? Bergy racked up a four point game. Bergeron’s goal was one of our rare power play goals, and it was the third of the second period and the game. He had three assists, and put another +3 up on the board for the Bruins. He leads the team in overall scoring with thirty one points, and is everywhere on the ice. He’s essentially the captain of special teams work, and I have to wonder if the “C” might not look to bad on him.