Live Blog: Canadiens/Bruins Game 7

Preamble: How did this get here? Seriously, I think the Canadiens thought that the 8-0 record meant that they got a free win or something. The Bruins have outplayed the Habs since Game 1, and it has not been pretty to watch. But no worries! I am significantly less worried now that I've found out that Guy Carbonneau is wearing his lucky tie.

(Okay seriously, I'm either going to be really giddy or have a breakdown at the end of this. Either way, fun should be had by all.)

7:03 pm - Hey look, Jean Beliveau in the stands looking rather serious. Come on, do you want to disappoint him?

7:04 pm - Kovalev AND Gorges in the starting lineup? Gorges skating? I guess it works for Kovalev since Chara is on the bench right now.

7:07 pm - It took the crowd a second, but they eventually started singing their hearts out.

7:08 pm - Carey Price has a faux hawk. How did I not notice this before?

7:08 pm - A big thank you to Bob Cole for putting the jinx on the Canadiens by pointing out that they have never lost when up 3 games to 1, and the Bruins have never won when down 3 games to 1.

7:09 pm - Chara out and our top 2 lines are now Kovalev/Koivu/Higgins and Plekanec and the brothers Kostitsyn.

7:12 pm - Things I never get tired off: Peter Schaeffer controlling the puck for minutes on end.

7:13 pm - Kovalev pulls down Chara's pants, and then Komisarek shoots the puck and the puck goes into the net! Unbelievable! Now they just need to keep it up!

7:14 pm - Begin has a break but pushes the puck too far ahead.

7:15 pm - BTW Mitch Melnick is right: HIT KESSEL!

7:16 pm - The Koivu/Kovalev line is dominating right now!

7:17 pm - HIT KESSEL!

7:18 pm - No seriously, HIT KESSEL!

7:22 pm - Come on, you are getting dominated by Glen Metropolit!

7:23 pm - I did not see Kessel get hit yet again while he was on the ice. JUST DO IT!

7:24 pm - That was a poor time for Brisebois to bring back the brain farts.

7:27 pm - So, the penalty kill (or as I like to call it, most of even strength play), huh.

7:28 pm - Kovalev on the penalty kill.

7:29 pm - Wow, that last 2 second of play the Canadiens actually hit a lot of players.

7:30 pm - Is it really a surprise that Koivu's line is the only dominant line? And that was a horrible call on Markov - he was just trying to get up!

7:32 pm - I will continue to repeeat it: HIT KESSEL!

7:37 pm - Begin with the hit, and then Stuart takes the retalitory cross-checking penalty.

7:38 pm - Holy crap a shot on the power play!

7:38 pm - I spoke way too soon. Now they are back to looking horrible.

7:40 pm - Sergei needs stiches, which is fortunate because we are near the end of the period.

8:01 pm - Back at the game to see a great chance for Kovalev.

8:02 pm - Briesbois is not having the best of games.

8:09 pm - Carey Price is like the guy who is plugging the hole in the dam with his finger.

8:12 pm - Sergei with the moving pick and he gets called for it. Then again, Sergei got hit in the head with a high stick and was stunned so he didn't move out of the way. I guess he got framed.

8:14 pm - Kovalev with the 1 on 5 rush on the penalty kill.

8:15 pm - Yep, Metropolit and Schaeffer are at it again.

8:17 pm - WHAT AN AWESOME PLAY! Kovalev with the outlet pass which puts Lapierre in on the break, and he drops it of for Streit, and Thomas is totally to blame for not making the save on that one.

8:18 pm - A bit early for the singing considering what has happened in previous games.

8:21 pm - Jean Chretien, Stephane Dion, Ken Dryden and Paul Martin with a toupee(?) are all at the game cheering their hearts out! Where are you Prime Minister Harper?

8:25 pm - Chara with the penalty. A PP goal is a killer here.

8L27 pm - That little skirmish reminds me that there hasn't been too much hate in this game (beyodn the Canadiens' fans booing Chara).

8:30 pm - New game plan for the PP - get Chara to draw all of hte penalties.

8:30 pm - ET LE BUT! Andrei Kostitsyn! Thomas didn't even see that shot.

8:33 pm - One good thing about Streit and Dandenault playing forward is that it lets the defensemen get deep, while they can cover for him. Boullion generated a great chance because he was able to play behind the net without worry about somebody getting caught.

8:35 pm - I might have called Frank Mahovolich "Paul Martin with a toupee". Oops. At least they mentioned M. Dion.

8:37 pm - Andrei got too cute there. BTW, go Washington (and the Semin/Backstrom combo)!

8:40 pm - PP for Boston, but Montreal is actually playing better.

9:00 pm - They kill off the Kovalev penalty, but Francis Boullion becomes my favourite player because he HIT PHIL KESSEL! (Okay, it was boarding, but still, somebody HIT KESSEL!)

9:02 pm - Kill off the penalty.

9:05 pm - Sergei wiht the highstick.

9:07 pm - Lapierre would have had a break if Hnidy didn't hold him. But of course that did not get called.

9:09 pm - Hey, Ference gets called for interference (or cross-checking). About time.

9:10 pm - What a pretty goal by Ovechkin

9:11 pm - Dennis Wideman missed a powerplay because he had to get his skate sharpened.

9:11 pm - Sturm likes his breakaways on the PK.

9:13 pm - Boston is playing with desperation now.

9:19 pm - The Habs are utilizing the Pittsburgh Penguins penalty kill circa 2000 to great precision right now.

9:20 pm - Ovechkin with the amazing shot and it looks like that game is going to go 7 games.

9:23 pm - Boston looks like they've given up on the game.

9:24 pm - Marc Savard runs Carey Price. All class, those Boston Bruins and Claude Julien.

9:26 pm - The goal now is to not have somebody get hurt.

9:27 pm - Andrei Kostitsyn with his second goal, this time definitely on the power play. All on Thomas, who gave up yet another horrible rebound. When Boston needed him the most, Thomas folded like the mediocre goalie that he was thought to be before this year.

9:30 pm - You know, around this time Bob Cole says that he is going to let the cheers tell the story and then shuts up. Not this time.

9:31 pm - Well, that was unfair. The Brothers Kostitsyn both have two goals and Montreal basically say "SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT US"

9:33 pm - Salute of the fans by the Canadiens, and NOW Cole shuts up.

9:34 pm - I just realized that Carey Price looks very similiar to Ozzy from Survivor. Hopefully he proves to be just as dominant as Ozzy, but less of a dick.

Final thoughts: Boston fans, blame Bill Simmons. He became un-widowed from the NHL and then declared himself ready for "the stomach punch" (his term for a heartbreaking loss).

Okay not really. Montreal got lucky with 2 of the wins, but Claude Julien not putting Phil Kessel into the lineup until game 5 was huge. When you are struggling to score goals, it's always a good idea to keep one of your best threats in the press box. And Carbonneau managed to come up with the genius plan of putting Koivu and Kovalev together, which hadn't worked previously.

So what happens next? If Philly wins, Montreal faces them, and Montreal faces a team which is a better version of the Boston team they just faced. If Washington wins, then it's the Rangers for Montreal, which poses a greater problem. Hopefully the 5-0 comeback puts doubt in the Rangers, but I doubt it. It would be nice to hear the boos rain down on Avery though.