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Bourque’s hat trick helps Habs survive a wild Game 5

New York Rangers v Montreal Canadiens - Game Five

MONTREAL, QC - MAY 27: Rene Bourque #17 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his second period goal at 15:10 against the New York Rangers during Game Five of the Eastern Conference Final in the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bell Centre on May 27, 2014 in Montreal, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

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As it turns out, this Montreal Canadiens - New York Rangers series is just too wild, wonderful and weird to end in five games.

The Canadiens rode Rene Bourque’s hat trick and some video game-level scoring, defense and goaltending to beat the Rangers 7-4 in Game 5. This series shifts to Madison Square Garden with the Rangers up 3-2.

Bourque now has eight goals in this postseason after scoring just nine in the regular season:

Normally a two-goal game from a returning Derek Stepan would be the story of the game, yet this was not an ordinary contest, even in an exciting postseason.

The Habs are now 3-0 in elimination games in the playoffs. The Rangers have won every elimination game they needed to gain, yet they haven’t made things easy for themselves. If they lose in Game 6, they’d face the unpleasant thought of a third seven-game series in the 2014 postseason.

Goaltending will be one of the top stories to watch in Game 6. Henrik Lundqvist was pulled midway through the second period only to see a Rangers surge that left Dustin Tokarski unsettled. Still, Tokarski made enough saves to hold onto the win ... though it’s anyone’s guess if he’ll be in net on Thursday.

It was a game in which past storylines resurfaced. The Canadiens’ power play broke through with a 1-0 goal after taking advantage of yet another bonehead penalty by the Rangers:

There was plenty of discussion about embellishment in Game 4, which obviously registered with the officials. Remarkably, the Rangers gained a power play after Tomas Plekanec drew a rare embellishment penalty that didn’t also come with a matching minor for his opponents.

The Rangers managed to tie the game briefly thanks to that opportunity, but it wouldn’t last. Bourque’s 5-4 goal stood as the game-winner while the Habs added to their lead in a third period that turned violent.

The game concluded with some ugliness, especially with John Moore’s match penalty elbowing hit on Dale Weise, who may or may not be injured:

Lars Eller delivered a hit that might get some mild criticism in its own right. After that, Derek Dorsett ruffled more than a few feathers with his behavior late in the game, which might just spark the war of words between these two teams.

Again, this game really had just about everything. Even with all of those lowlights for the goalies, Tokarski managed to make a beauty of a save and some big stops that will likely get lost in the larger narrative of their struggles.

It’s anyone’s guess how Game 6 will play out at Madison Square Garden, but it will be tough to top tonight’s game. Then again, this has been one of the most remarkable series of a remarkable postseason, so it would be foolish to guarantee that we’ve already seen the best of the Eastern Conference finals.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins