After a 2 month wait, I took my dad to the game with the tickets I got him for Christmas. And I couldn't have picked a better game. Canadiens fans were all over the place, having come by buses from Montreal. Cheers and chants were traded back and forth as soon as the players stepped on the ice.
The first period started with Montreal controlling the puck and owning the corners. But Boston pulled together and finished off the period with a couple good scoring chances.
The second period saw two Bruins goals. One was a slapper by Petr Tenkrat that Habs goalie Jaroslav Halak looked to have gloved, but it went over his right shoulder and in. With just over a minute left in the 2nd, Brandon Bochenski came in down the left side and caught Halak leaning to his left and fired a wrister near side.
In the 3rd, Sheldon Souray fired a slapshot that beat Thomas five-hole for his 23rd goal of the season. With under 5 minutes left, Glen Murray took a drop pass from Savard in the slot and snapped a wrister top shelf to give Boston a 3-1 lead. Montreal pulled Halak with 1:20 to go, but couldn't get anything done.
Overall the game was the best I've seen in Boston in a couple years. The normally sparse crowd was replaced by a full house. The arena was roaring all night long. Both teams played hard, just like they should have in a 4-point division game. Just like the ticket said, "The Bruins aren't the glitz, they're the grit." And that's how they played en route to a 3-1 finish.
