Bruins sock it to Canadiens

Zednik injured as Bruins start quickly again and stifle Habs rally on Rolston goal

PAT HICKEY The Gazette

The Boston Bruins think of Brian Rolston as a special player and he showed why last night, as he provided the backbreaker in the Bruins' 5-2 win over the Canadiens at the Molson Centre.

Rolston effectively ended any chance of a Montreal comeback when he scored a shorthanded goal at 15:46 of the second period to give the Bruins a 4-1 lead.

The victory left the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarter-final deadlocked at 2-2 and allowed the Bruins to regain the home-ice advantage in the series.

Game 5 is scheduled for the Fleet-Centre tomorrow (1 p.m., CBC, Radio-Canada, CJAD Radio-800).
The Bruins,, who talked about playing desperate hockey, took control in the first period on goals by PJ. Stock, Bill Guerin and Martin Lapointe.

And the Canadiens' task became more difficult when Richard Zednik, who scored both Canadiens' goals, was carried from the ice on a stretcher after he was clotheslined by Boston's Kyle McLaren with 1:17 remaining in regulation time.

That brought the game to a screeching halt, with players jawing at each other and another brawl breaking out in the final minute, that was precipitated by a slash on Bruins goalie Byron Dafoe.

After falling behind 3-0 in the first period, the Canadiens appeared poised to mount a comeback when Zednik scored the first of his two power-play goals at 14:14 of the second period.

That tally seemed to energize the Canadiens and they were putting the pressure on the Bruins when Boston defenceman Nick Boynton was called for holding at 15:30.

But any prospects for another powerplay goal ended quickly.

Saku Koivu, whose play in this series has been nothing short of miraculous after his season-long battle against the right point. Rolston pounced on the loose puck and outraced Koivu and Patrice Brisebois to the other end of the ice, where he beat Jose Theodore with a wrist shot off the rush at 15:46. Rolston scored nine of his 31 goals this season while the Bruins were shorthanded.

The Bruins, who talked about playing desperate hockey in this game, took control in the first period on goals by RJ. Stock, Bill Guerin and Martin Lapointe, although they had some help from the Canadiens.

Boston took a 1-0 lead at 2:49 of the opening period when Montreal native Stock beat Theodore on a wraparound. Stock, who played 58 regular-season games without scoring a goal and is known more for his feisty play, used his strength to push the puck through Theodore's skates after coming out from behind the net.

The Bruins added two more goals while Jan Bulis was sitting in the penalty box, serving a double-minor penalty for high-sticking.

While Theodore has yet to match his brilliant play during the regular season, he couldn't be faulted on the first of the two power-play goals.

Guerin's shot from the sideboards was off target, but defenceman Sheldon Souray inadvertently redirected it into the Montreal net at 15:49, with 29 seconds remaining in the first of Bulis' two penalties.

Lapointe, another Montreal native, made it 3-0 when he beat Theodore at 17:17. Lapointe's first attempt was knocked down in front of the net, but he picked up his own rebound and stuffed it behind the Canadiens goalie.

Bulis was making his first appearance in the playoffs. He played on the checking line with Joe Juneau and Andreas Dackell.

Zednik gave the Canadiens some hope that they could come back as they did in Game 3 when he scored with Guerin in the penalty box.

Boston coach Robbie Ftorek called a timeout after the penalty, but whatever strategy was discussed, it didn't have any effect, as Zednik scored from the slot after Oleg Petrov deflected Juneau's shot from the point.

Zednik. who finished the night with nine shots on goal, added a second power-play goal at 7:07 when he batted a puck down in the slot, passed to Doug Gilmour behind the net and scored on a one-timer off Gilmour's return pass.

The assist gave Gilmour 184 playoff points and moved him into a tie with Brian Trottier for sixth place on the all time list.

Seconds before Zednik's second goal, Boston defenceman Hal Gill dumped Koivu after a whistle. There was no call on the play and several fans showed their displeasure by throwing their white rally towels on the ice.

Sergei Samsonov provided the final margin when he beat Theodore on a rebound at 14:20.

Game 6 is scheduled for the Molson Centre on Monday night, while a seventh game, if necessary, will be played Tuesday in Boston.