Brian Gionta scored the decisive goal 2:45 into the first period and sealed the deal with his goal 16:42 into the final period as the Montreal Canadiens hung on for dear life, ultimately escaping with a 2-0 upset win in game one of the quarterfinals of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Thursday night.
Montreal takes a 1-0 lead in the series, thanks in part to a masterful performance for goaltender Carey Price, who turned away all 31 shots he faced in net.
With less than five minutes to go, the Bruins still had an opportunity to knot the score at one, but suffered a setback a few minutes later when Zdeno Chara was sent to the penalty box for roughing Montreal's Tomas Plekanec, resulting in a two minute penalty.
The Bruins were unable to kill the penalty, and Gionta potted the dagger with nearly three minutes to go in regulation.
Tim Thomas gave up a mere two goals in the loss, but wasn't picked up by his offense. The Bruins' goaltender had 18 saves in the losing effort.
Despite the loss, Boston outshot Montreal, 31-20, and had three power play opportunities to the Canadiens' four. Boston racked up eight penalty minutes while Montreal amassed six minutes in the box. The Bruins also held the advantage in faceoffs won (36-25), hits (19-18) and both teams had 19 blocked shots.
Boston will host Montreal in game two of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Saturday night at 7 p.m. EDT (TV/Radio: NESN/CBC, WBZ-FM).