Ryder burns former mates as B's sweep Habs for 1st series win in a decade

 

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• Injured Habs Markov, Schneider out for Game 4

Game Information

Arena: Bell Centre Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Referees: Dave Jackson, Kelly Sutherland Linesmen: Steve Barton, Brian Murphy

Attendance: 21,273 (100.0% full)

POSTSEASON Team Stat Comparison
34	Goals	6
22	Goals Against	17
6	Power Play Goals	0
3	Power Play Goals Allowed	4
0	Shorthanded Goals	0
1	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	0
147	Penalty Minutes	103
13	Average Penalty Minutes	26

Scoring Summary
1ST PERIOD			BOS	MON
0:39		Andrei Kostitsyn Assists: Saku Koivu, Alexei Kovalev	0	1
17:27		Michael Ryder Unassisted	1	1
19:25		David Krejci Assists: Michael Ryder, Milan Lucic	2	1
2ND PERIOD			BOS	MON
11:58		Phil Kessel Assists: Patrice Bergeron	3	1
12:43		Michael Ryder Assists: David Krejci, Dennis Wideman	4	1
3RD PERIOD			BOS	MON
No scoring this period			4	1

MONTREAL -- The Boston Bruins swept aside their longtime rivals and a decade's worth of playoff frustration.

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Former Montreal forward Michael Ryder scored twice and assisted on David Krejci's goal to help Boston complete a four-game sweep of the Canadiens with a 4-1 victory Wednesday night.

Tim Thomas made 26 saves, and Phil Kessel also scored for the Bruins, who won the Eastern Conference quarterfinal for their first playoff series win in 10 years.

"Yeah, it's definitely a good feeling to beat your old team here in Montreal and make it the last one," said Ryder, who signed as a free agent after he was a healthy scratch for all but four of the Canadiens' 12 playoff games last season. "I kind of actually forgot about what happened last year. I'm a Bruin now and it's a lot of fun."

Fast Facts

• Michael Ryder scored four goals in the series with the Bruins; a former Canadien, Ryder scored three goals in 21 career playoff games with Montreal.

• The Bruins and Canadiens have met 32 times in the playoffs (most meetings between any two teams). This is the second time Boston has swept Montreal in a best-of-seven series. Last time was the 1992 Adams Division final, Boston got swept in the next round by the Penguins.

• The Canadiens have lost eight straight playoff games (lost four straight to the Flyers in last season's conference semifinals) and four of their last five playoff series.

• Boston's sweep makes two four-game sweeps in this year's conference quarterfinals. The last time there were two four-game sweeps in the conference quarterfinals was in 2001 (Maple Leafs swept Senators, Avalanche swept Canucks).

-- ESPN Stats & Information

Top-seeded Boston had lost five straight series -- falling to Montreal in 2002, '04 and '08 -- since beating Carolina in the first round in 1999.

"Since I got here that was the goal and we tried to improve every year and tried to get better," said Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who left Ottawa as a free agent to sign with Boston for the 2006-07 season.

"Obviously, the first year we didn't make the playoffs and the second year we lost in Game 7, now this year we're moving on to the second round but I don't think, 'This is it, we should be satisfied.' We all know we have to go towards the goal and this is just the first step."

Andrei Kostitsyn gave Montreal a 1-0 lead 39 seconds in and the Canadiens dominated the scoring chances in the opening period, outshooting Boston 16-7.

The Bruins, though, went to the dressing room with a 2-1 lead after Ryder and Krejci scored 1:58 apart late in the period.

"That's always the goal, to be tied or be ahead after the first, especially on the road," Chara said. "That puts a lot of pressure on the home team and you know that going into the second period that it's always tougher for them because they know they're one goal behind and they have to press even more, so you just to be patient and play smart."

Kessel extended the lead to 3-1 when he stepped out of the penalty box and drove the right side before putting a low shot past Carey Price 11:58 into the second for his fourth goal in four games.

Ryder, who scored the winner Monday night in a 4-2 victory, got his second of the game -- his fourth of the series -- at 12:43 when he scored off a Krejci's cross-ice pass.

Montreal completed its 100th season with eight straight losses, including its last four regular-season games.

"They came in first in the conference for a reason," Canadiens left wing Chris Higgins said. "They've got a lot of depth on that team and they play well as a unit so it's no surprise why they played as solidly against us as they did in the series."

The fans gave Price a sarcastic cheer when he stopped Chuck Kobasew's 80-foot dump-in 15:38 into the second.

The sophomore goalie raised his arms above his head, offering the crowd the same response Patrick Roy gave when he was subjected to similar mock cheers on his way to allowing nine goals in what would prove to be the future Hall of Famer's final game with the Canadiens, an 11-1 loss to Detroit at the Montreal Forum on Dec. 2, 1995.

"I suppose he could have kept his cool and not made any gesture towards the crowd, but on the other hand when you're being bullied, basically, if you don't stand up for yourself, who's going to?" Canadiens GM and coach Gainey said. "By my count he must have had three or four breakaways to stop in the second period so where is the basis for the jeering coming from?"

Price went the distance and made 26 saves. He started all four games, though he was pulled in Game 2 after allowing five goals through the first two periods.

The sold-out Bell Centre crowd was squarely behind the Canadiens at the outset when Kostitsyn took Saku Koivu's pass and beat Thomas with a partially screened shot into the top right corner.

Ryder tied it at 1 with his third goal of the series with 2:33 remaining in the first. Canadiens defenseman Roman Hamrlik pushed the puck forward into the slot and Ryder jumped on the opportunity to drive a one-timer past Price.

Krejci worked a give-and-go with Ryder to set up the second goal, taking his linemates return pass to score into a wide open left side with 34.4 seconds left in the opening period.

Milan Lucic returned to the Bruins' lineup after serving a one-game league suspension Monday and fought with Mike Komisarek late in the second.

Komisarek got a major and a game misconduct 12:39 into the third for cross-checking Lucic. Komisarek missed 16 games from Nov. 15 to Dec. 16 after injuring his shoulder in a fight with Lucic.

Game notes
It was the Bruins' first series sweep since they beat Montreal four straight in the 1992 Adams Division final. ... Boston beat the Canadiens for the eighth time in 32 playoff meetings between the longtime rivals. ... Bruins RW Byron Bitz was left out of the lineup. Bitz replaced Lucic in the lineup Monday and recorded an assist in his playoff debut. ... LW Alex Tanguay was unable to play for Montreal. A game-time decision, he missed his second straight game because of an upper body injury. Earlier Wednesday, Canadiens GM and coach Bob Gainey ruled out a return by D Andrei Markov and D Mathieu Schneider. Markov has been out since missing the last four games of the regular season with a knee injury, and Schneider was unable to play Monday because of a sore shoulder.