Boston continues its trek towards history when it hosts the rival Montreal Canadiens in Game 5 of their quarterfinal series in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs at 7 p.m. EDT on Saturday night at TD Garden (TV/Radio: NESN/WBZ-FM).
The Bruins, who evened the series at two games with their thrilling 5-4 overtime win on Thursday night, have never won a playoff series after trailing 0-2 in 26 tries. Montreal won the first two games of the series in Boston, but the Bruins responded with two straight wins at the Bell Centre in Canada.
Michael Ryder was the hero for Boston in Game 4, netting the game-winner 1:59 into overtime on a pristine pass from Chris Kelly. Tim Thomas recorded 34 saves in the win for Boston, which was outshot by Montreal 38-35.
Thomas hasn't been stellar through four games, but he's been good enough to get the job done. Thomas has turned away a total of 109 shots while giving up 11 goals.
In the opposite net, Canadiens goaltender Carey Price was nearly unstoppable through the first two games, allowing one goal while making 65 saves. Price now has 116 saves and has given up nine goals through four games.
While Saturday night's game isn't officially a must-win for either team, it will put the loser in a tough predicament. The loser of Game 5 will be forced to win two straight games, one in Montreal and another back in Boston, if they wish to win the series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.