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Bruins win Game 5, take 3-2 series lead over Habs

May 11, 2014 - 6:23 AM Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - Carl Soderberg picked up a goal and two assists to back 29 saves from Tuukka Rask, and the Boston Bruins claimed a 4-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Reilly Smith, Jarome Iginla and Loui Eriksson also tallied for the Bruins, who took a 3-2 series edge and can advance to their second straight conference finals with a win at Bell Centre on Monday.

Brendan Gallagher and P.K. Subban scored for the Canadiens, who decided to sit veteran playoff performer Danny Briere in the pivotal contest. Carey Price stopped 26 pucks in defeat.

"They capitalized on their power play," Habs head coach Michel Therrien said.

Boston went up 2-0 just 64 seconds into the middle period while on a power play. Dougie Hamilton's low-point offering deflected off both of Smith's skates in the slot and slid through Price's pads, and a brief review revealed no kicking motion.

Only 32 seconds later, and six seconds into a high-sticking minor to Tomas Plekanec, Iginla one-timed a knuckling puck off a Torey Krug dish to make it 3-0 for the Bruins.

"I think our power play wasn't effective the first period," Bruins head coach Claude Julien said. "We had a little chat after the opening period about turning up the intensity. Then when we scored the two goals, and the power play was huge."

Montreal finally hit the scoreboard with 5:21 remaining before the second intermission, when a Plekanec drive redirected off Gallagher in a goalmouth scramble and sailed by Rask.

Rask flashed his pad to stop a contested David Desharnais rush as the clock ticked down to 2 1/2 minutes left in the second, and the Canadiens continued to come up empty while down by two.

The B's gained some more breathing room with 5:48 left in regulation. Matt Fraser's shot from the right point was kicked aside by Price, but the rebound came out to an unchecked Eriksson, who slid it inside the left post for a 4-1 edge.

Price was pulled for an extra skater inside the final five minutes, and the Habs went 6-on-4 after Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski was sent off for holding as 3:22 showed on the third-period clock.

Subban's rocket from the point past a visibly cowering Rask pulled Montreal within two at 17:31, but the hosts put a blanket over the Habs' attack until the final buzzer.

Smith cranked a shot off the right post just over a minute into the contest, and though the Bruins failed to click on two power-play chances, they emerged with the game's first score at 13:20.

Eriksson was pursued behind the Canadiens' net but dished blindly into the slot, where Soderberg ripped a shot home from the inner edge of the left circle.

Game Notes

Smith's tally snapped the Bruins' 0-for-37 playoff streak on the power play against the Canadiens since Michael Ryder scored in Game 2 of the 2009 ECQF on April 18, 2009, a 5-1 Boston victory ... Gallagher's goal ended Rask's shutout string of 121 minutes, 58 seconds dating back to Game 3 ... Briere, who has recorded 113 points in 116 postseason appearances, was benched in favor of Brandon Prust, who had been a healthy scratch for the previous two contests.