4 Hours Later...

What. A. Win.

I have NEVER heard that rink so loud as when they just won. What a game. I think I can honestly say that is one of the greatest games of hockey I have ever seen. I don't even know where to start with this one. Between Thomas' 44 saves, Price's 49, Michael Ryder's glove save, and some of the best defense I have ever seen, this was one for the record books.

I'm pretty sure I can hear Bostonians all the way up here in New Hampshire.
Let's break this epic marathon of a game down.

The atmosphere that was in the Garden after Rene Rancourt finished the national anthem was intense. You could tell that this place was psyched, and the players and the fans were ready. The first puck was dropped, and away we went. Right off the bat, the Habs were getting a ton of offense going, and PK Subban had a couple of shots in right in the first minute. After the first minute though, the Habs slowed down a ton and the Bruins got their gears in motion, and never slowed down. They started off with some great shots on Price, and just absolutely out-working the Canadiens skaters. Price was the only thing that kept them going during this period. At 11:57 came a moment that I don't think I'm gonna be forgetting any time soon...the Habs started putting tremendous pressure on Thomas, I mean, he was absolutely beat by them. The puck was to the left of Thomas, and he was down trying to get it, when the Habs moved the puck to the right, and Plekanec taks a shot on a wide open net and SCOR- oh wait, Michael Ryder slides in and literally makes a glove save (I can't believe there's already a video up). Absolutely unreal. The first period ended with both goaltenders making their presence known.

The first puck drop of the second yielded the Bruins generating offense right off of the start this time, and were getting shots in within the first minute. Both teams were showcasing great defensive play, but the Bruins were really doing well. They were doing a fantastic job knocking players off of the puck, and even taking the body to block the puck. Again, I have to note how I am consistently amazed by the Bruin's forechecking abilities. They were doing some incredible work with that this period, and it was paying off in the form of tremendous offensive pressure. About halfway through the second period, after being just beaten down, the Habs finally were generating some offensive chances, and were threatening to take the first lead of the game. With 52.1 seconds left in the 2nd, tempers boiled over, and there was a violent exchange in the front of the net, which led to a bit of a brawl in front of price, resulting in penalties to both teams.

Right off of the 3rd period faceoff, offense was king. The amount of pressure and chances both teams were generating was unbelievable. The only thing more impressive was the goaltending. Thomas and Price were absolutely amazing in the crease. The first goalie to falter was Price. 15:27 in the 3rd, Brad Marchand scored off of a broken stick feed from Bergeron which just floated across the crease in front of Price. There was not a thing Price could do but watch. This was a huge goal, and the Garden knew it. I could barely heard Brick and Edwards. Offense for the Black and Gold did not cease, and Marchand was getting more and more shots on net. With 6:04 left in the third, however, the Habs sticks found the back of the net, and Halpern tied it on a quick feed from Darche.

On to overtime.

The overtime period started and both teams got to work. I noticed the fatigue set in fairly early for both teams, but both netminders still played like they were 100% fresh. Both teams were getting little spurts of offense, but around halfway through, I had a suspicion that we'd be seeing a double overtime. Both goalies had some scary moments, at 16:00, Thomas came out to save the puck, but it got picked off by a Montreal forward, but was quickly steered out of harms way by the impressive Bruins defense. At 11:52, Price, while trying to pass the puck, completely whiffs on it, and Marchand almost tapped it in for his second goal. The rest of the first overtime went off fairly uneventfully, and on to the second OT we went.

The second OT started, and you could tell, these guys were EXHAUSTED. Sloppy puck control, tough turnovers, and bad passes were all present. One thing that stayed though? Excellent goaltending. The Habs got a huge breakaway, and with what should have been a clearcut goal turned into possibly the greatest save by Tim Thomas I have EVER seen. Then, at 10:57, in double overtime, Nathan Horton puts the puck past a helpless Price on a huge rebound right in front.

This game was unbelievable. It boosts the Bruins in series, and puts Montreal in a tough spot. Cannot wait for game 6.