The Boston Bruins have battled back in their playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens.
April 22, 2011- The tough Boston Bruins fought back from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Montreal Canadians last night and even their series with the Habs at two. Jacques Martin, the Canadian head coach, insists his team did not play defensive hockey after taking a 3-1 lead but the statistics of the game show a much different scenario.
The Canadians lost three different leads in the game and ex-Montreal player Michael Ryder scored in overtime to beat his former team. The Eastern Conference quarter final series is now even 2-2 and game 5 is scheduled for Saturday night with game six on Tuesday. If a game seven is needed it will be played Wednesday in Boston.
A rebound goal by Chris Kelly, still recovering from hitting the goal post with his face in game three, at 13:42 of the third period tied the scored for the third and last time and sent the game to overtime.
If one looks at the statistics of the game it is easy to see that the Canadians began to sit back on their haunches after taking a 3 -1 lead. The Bruins out shot the Canadians by a 10 -1 margin over the last thirteen plus minutes of the third and final period after the Canadians had been outshooting the Bruins 14-4 before they took their 3-1 second period lead.
The outcome of this series is now in complete doubt as both teams have shown their abilities to return from deficits. Saturday night’s game is pivotal since the winner of that game will only be one win away from the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
