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Bruins host Habs in crucial Game 5

Apr 23, 2011 - 3:11 PM (Sports Network) - The Boston Bruins will try to take their first series lead of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals when they host the rival Montreal Canadiens tonight in Game 5 at TD Garden.

The home team has yet to win a game in this best-of-seven series. The Bruins fell behind two-games-to-none by losing the first two tests in Boston, but the B's then tied the set at 2-2 with wins in the next two games at Montreal.

The Northeast Division champion Bruins were not a great home team during the regular season, posting a 22-13-6 record at the Garden compared to a 24-12-5 mark on the road. Boston's main problem in its first two home games of this series was the club's inability to score, as Claude Julien's squad managed just one goal against the Habs over Games 1 and 2.

Scoring was not an issue for Boston in the most recent game, however, as the Bruins scored five times to outlast the Canadiens in Thursday's overtime battle. Michael Ryder's second score of the game, coming 1:59 into OT, lifted Boston to the 5-4 victory at the Bell Centre.

The Bruins won the game despite trailing by a 3-1 score at one point in the second period.

"I'm just happy we won the game. It's all that matters now," Ryder said. "It's good to go home tied 2-2."

Ryder and Chris Kelly each notched three points for the Bruins, while Patrice Bergeron and Andrew Ference also lit the lamp.

Ference's goal did cost him financially, however, as the forward was fined $2,500 for making an obscene gesture towards the Montreal fans after scoring his first playoff goal since 2001.

Tim Thomas stopped 34-of-38 shots to record the win in Game 4. On Friday, Boston's goaltender was named as one of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy, an award he also won in 2009. Thomas is considered by many to be the favorite for the goaltending award this year, but he will have to beat out Vancouver's Roberto Luongo and Nashville's Pekka Rinne for the honor.

Mike Cammalleri continues to be a postseason force for Montreal, as he notched a goal and two assists for the Canadiens in Game 4, giving him two goals and five helpers in this series. Cammalleri tied a club record with 13 goals in 19 playoff games last year and also added six assists in Montreal's run to the conference finals.

Andrei Kostitsyn, Brent Sopel and P.K. Subban also added scores on Thursday, while Carey Price gave up five goals on 35 shots.

Rich Peverley began the winning sequence by missing wide of the Montreal net off a 3-on-1 rush. The puck caromed off the back boards to Kelly on the right side near the goal line, and his spinning feed across to an open Ryder was converted for the deciding goal.

"We had some gaps in our defense. This was a heartbreaking loss after we came out so strong in regulation and in OT," Cammalleri admitted. "Defensive lapses were evident. We let them come back and that was a big faux pas. Now we go back to Boston and start all over again."

Boston is trying to come back from a 2-0 deficit to win a series for the first time in club history. Montreal has lost just four playoff series in which it has led 2-0 and the last time the Habs coughed up a two-games-to-none lead was in the 2006 conference quarterfinals against Carolina.

This is the 33rd playoff series between these two Original Six rivals. It is the most two teams have faced off in the playoffs and Montreal has won 24 of them. However, Boston has claimed five of the previous eight series and swept the Habs in four games the last time the two clubs met in the 2009 quarterfinals.

The Canadiens had a 20-19-2 mark as the visiting team during the regular season.