Football
20y

Boston heads home with 3-1 series lead

MONTREAL (AP) -- Glen Murray took advantage of his good fortune
and made a goat out of Montreal's Alexei Kovalev.

Murray pounced on Kovalev's mistake to score on a breakaway 9:27
into the second overtime Tuesday night, giving the Boston Bruins a
4-3 win over the Canadiens.

Boston, which took a 3-1 series lead, tied it when Mike Knuble
scored with 30.7 seconds remaining in regulation.

Murray beat goalie Jose Theodore with a wrist shot after
Montreal's Kovalev -- who scored his third goal in two games in
regulation -- collided with teammate Sheldon Souray in the neutral
zone.

"The puck was just laying there for me," Murray said.

Kovalev was shaking his hand after appearing to be slashed on
the glove by Travis Green and lost sight of the puck -- and Souray
and Murray.

"There's nothing you can say about that," said Kovalev, whose
right hand was wrapped in a bag of ice. "We ended up in the middle
of the ice, and Sheldon ended up losing the puck."

Canadiens coach Claude Julien felt Kovalev made a bad decision.

"I think that when the referees don't call a penalty on a play,
you can't stop playing," Julien said. "They decided not to call
it, and then they collided. Murray got the breakaway, and he doesn't
miss many of those.

"It's a crappy way to lose a game"

Souray also felt Kovalev should have been more concerned about
playing the puck.

"It's crazy," Souray said. "I was just caught by surprise
that he left the puck there and there was no one behind me. It's
frustrating that it happened right now, in a game that was so
important."

Green wasn't surprised no penalty was called on the play.

"If I double-handed slashed him, I'm sure his arm would be
broken," Green said.

Bruins goalie Andrew Raycroft made 42 saves. Theodore stopped 40
shots.

Michael Nylander and Jiri Slegr also scored for Boston, which won its second overtime game of the series. Bruins rookie Patrice Bergeron scored 1:26 into overtime Friday to give Boston a 2-1 home win, its second straight to open the first-round series.

"Whoever comes out of this game with a win has a lot of
momentum going with them," Raycroft said. "To close out and get a
split here in Montreal was huge for us."

The Bruins can end the series with a win in Game 5, which is Thursday in
Boston.

Knuble tied the score in the final minute of the third period,
though he had to wait several anxious moments for a video review to
award the goal.

Knuble put a backhander past Theodore's left pad from the edge
of the crease, though play continued for another eight seconds.

Play was stopped with 22.1 seconds remaining, and video replay
officials reviewed the play. The replay showed Knuble put the puck
just across the goal line inside the left post before it quickly
rebounded out of the net.

"It was a hope and a prayer," Knuble said.

The Bruins' bench erupted in cheers and the sellout Bell Centre
crowd of 21,273 moaned its disappointment when referee Mick
McGeough pointed to center ice to signal the goal. The clock was
reset to 30.7 seconds remaining.

Mike Ribeiro scored twice and Kovalev had his third goal in two
games for Montreal, which scored just once while losing the first
two games in Boston.

Ribeiro, whom many Bruins accused of faking an injury late in
Montreal's 3-2 win in Game 3, found a much better way to get under
their skin. He scored his first career playoff goal 4:41 in before
the Bruins could lay a hand on him. By the time Boston forward
Brian Rolston knocked him to the ice, Ribeiro already had deflected
a bouncing puck backward past Raycroft's right leg and inside the
left post.

He got his second of the game early in the second period to put
Montreal up 3-1. Kovalev had given the Canadiens a 2-1 edge with
4.9 seconds remaining in the first period.

Ribeiro, who didn't practice Monday, writhed in pain on the ice
with less than a minute remaining in Sunday's game after what
appeared to be an innocuous collision with Knuble. He remained on
the Canadiens' bench through the end of that game and smiled while
trading barbs with the Bruins, drawing the visitors' ire.

Nylander returned and scored his third goal of the series in the
first period. Nylander, who has five points in three games, missed
Game 3 because of flu-like symptoms.

Slegr drew Boston within 3-2 when his shot deflected off
Montreal defenseman Francis Bouillon's skate and past Theodore
midway in the second period.

Game notes
The Canadiens lost defenseman Stephane Quintal to an
apparent hip injury in the second period. Quintal had to be helped
off the ice after he struck his right hip on the boards when he was
upended by Boston defenseman Hal Gill. ... The Bruins are 11-21
against Montreal overall in playoff overtimes. ... In response to
scattered booing heard during "The Star-Spangled Banner" before
Sunday's game, the Canadiens broadcast a recorded message from Jean
Beliveau on the video board. The Hall of Famer asked fans to show
respect during both national anthems. Less booing was heard, and most fans applauded through the end of the American anthem. ...
Canadiens C Steve Begin was out because of a leg injury from
Sunday's game.

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