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Bruins beat Canadiens 2-1 in 2nd OT after Tim Thomas and Carey Price engage in epic duel

Montreal Canadiens v Boston Bruins - Game Five

in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden on April 23, 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Bruins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 in double overtime.

Elsa

When people pictured how the Montreal Canadiens-Boston Bruins series would play out, this was the type of game people were expecting. Both Carey Price and Tim Thomas were flat-out amazing, with Thomas stealing the show even though two Bruins skaters made great “saves” of their own during the contest.

Even though it took until a second overtime period for Nathan Horton to bang in a rebound for a 2-1 Bruins win, each squad brought relentless energy to a game that was full of drama and close calls. The Habs shouldn’t feel shame with this loss, but this is the kind of defeat that’s tough to shake.

Boston 2, Montreal 1 (2nd OT); Bruins lead series 3-2.

This marks the second consecutive overtime win for the Bruins, who now have the Canadiens on the ropes after dropping behind 0-2. The Bruins also became the first team to win a home game in this series.

The greatest moments probably came from the most amazing saves.

After plenty of trips to the doghouse, Michael Ryder is putting together the type of postseason that could make him a folk hero in Boston. Ryder made an outrageous (but unofficial) save on a Tomas Plekanec shot, stopping the puck with his right hand with the type of reaction that makes him a great off-season ball hockey goalie.

You would assume that would be the highlight of the game, but Ryder ended up with some great competition, with Zdeno Chara making a crucial “save” of his own (though it was a bit more accidental).

Judging from those two dodged bullets, one might wonder if Thomas had a bad night. Instead, he was at his aggressive, sprawling best while stopping 44 out of 45 shots. His best moment came in the the second overtime period when he stopped a well-executed 2-on-1 play in what was probably the best save of the playoffs so far.

(Unless you prefer Ryder’s out-of-context stroke of brilliance, of course.)

Carey Price didn’t get the win, but anyone who blames him for the loss obviously didn’t watch the game (or even peruse the box score). Price made 49 out of 51 saves, including a brilliant stop when David Krejci tried a fancy one-on-one deke on him.

Here are all of the highlights:

Thomas and Price put on a goalie clinic, but ultimately, the unorthodox goalie’s team came out on top against the polished butterfly stylist.

The three goal scorers

Brad Marchand made it 1-0 in the third period after the puck went his way from Patrice Bergeron’s broken stick, a goal that happened shortly after Max Pacioretty’s nose-related insults cropped up on Twitter. (Pacioretty later apologized.)

That 1-0 goal lead didn’t last, though, as Jeff Halpern took advantage of a Bruins lapse to bring the score to 1-1. It would stay that way until Horton scored off of a rebound nine minutes into the second OT. (If you’re like me, you’re expecting to come across a lot of Dr. Seuss puns in the near future.)

The impact on both teams

The Bruins must feel a lot of confidence with their backs against the wall. They’ve won three straight games with little-to-no margin of error, and again, two of those victories came in OT. After a relatively shaky start, Thomas is showing the world why he’s one of the absolute best netminders alive.

The Canadiens must be heartbroken right now, especially since they had a legitimate chance to win all five games. The silver lining is obvious, though: they’re obviously talented enough to trade blows with a strong team.

Montreal only needs to look to their 2010 series against the Penguins and Capitals for more dire situations, although this one might match those from an emotional standpoint.

This series is living up to its expectations so far, but if this amazing Game 5 is any indication, there’s plenty of fun left. It just goes to show you that you don’t need a bunch of goals to have a captivating game.