After one scoreless period, defensive play became the focus with neither team wanting to give an inch. Boston's scoring chances continued into period two, putting 12 pucks on net. Then Montreal's power play, the one the Bruins have been burned by all too often, struck again. With :42 seconds left on the clock, an Andrei Kostitsyn rebound headed straight for the stick of Patrice Brisebois, who put it away for the night's only goal.

"The puck came right out on my blade," Brisebois said. "I saw the hole and put my Sherwood on it hard. It was a good feeling."

Boston opened up the third period with the man advantage after a Steve Begin tripping penalty, but couldn't find the net. Carey Price settled down and shut down the Bruins, stopping all 27 Bruins shots for his first career playoff shutout.

When the Bruins pressed hardest, Montreal just pressed back harder. "Guys were going down and blocking shots," Price said. "The defense played great, I couldn't have asked for a better effort from them. That's the kind of hockey you need to win. It is the way we have to play the next game."

And that's how both teams are moving forward. While Brisebois's strike looks lethal, there's more hockey to play on Thursday night.

"It is what it is and that's one game at a time and we don't have any choice but to win the next one if we want to stay alive," Julien said.

"You can't look at the big picture," Glen Metropolit, one of three Bruins with three shots, said. "We have to concentrate on the next game. The first period's going to be key in Montreal. They're going to come out hard and we have to be desperate. We have to play hard, take hits, turn away from the other stuff and just play our game."

Game Notes

- Aaron Ward took a knee from Tomas Plekanec in the final minutes of the third period and was hurt on the play. Claude Julien said he's a "question mark" for Thursday's game in Montreal. Ward's play was erratic for much of the game as it was, but the he's a face the Bruins would sorely miss if he can't suit up.

- During the game's second TV timeout in the first period, the Bruins tried to catch some championship fever from a Boston College hockey montage. Looks like the magic was left in Denver.

- Optimists, look away. The Bruins are 0-20 lifetime and have never even forced a game seven when trailing a series 3-1.

- Montreal's Ryan O'Byrne played in his first career NHL playoff game, logging 9:30 of ice time, all at even strength. "It was pretty surreal right from the get go," O'Byrne said. "There was just so much energy and everyone is fighting for that guy next to you. It is quite cool."

- Simply for comparison's sake, Cristobal Huet and Carey Price's stat lines for the night. Price: 27 saves, zero goals allowed, shutout. Huet: 27 saves, five goals allowed, 84.375 save percentage, and a two minute minor for roughing Daniel Briere. Well, how could he resist?

- Thundersticks, according to my sources, were developed in South Korea. They should return to South Korea or southern California at the very least. They have no place on Causeway Street. Thundersticks are kind of like a laugh track on a sitcom, they can't replace the real thing and are just way too cheesy.