In this recent championship-level era of Bruins hockey, one criticism you can make of the B’s is that they rarely make things easy on themselves.
Boston had the opportunity to close out Montreal Monday night up, but uncharacteristic miscues cost them Game 6, 4-0. With the loss, the B’s will face yet another Game 7, Wednesday at TD Garden (7 p.m., NBCSN).
The Bruins’ issues in Game 6 began early as Kevan Miller couldn’t get a good read on the puck coming off the boards, and his stumble pulled Tuukka Rask out of position. It set up a gimme Montreal goal for Lars Eller at the 2:11 mark of the first period.
Montreal wing Max Pacioretty took advantage of more Bruins miscommunication around the net as he zoomed past a conservative Zdeno Chara and beat Rask low 15:24 into the second to give Montreal a 2-0 lead. Pacioretty was again in the scoring mix minutes later as he booted the puck off his skate over to Thomas Vanek, who found the net on a Habs power play.
The B’s had their moments Monday night, but as they’ve learned throughout the series it takes more than a few good looks at Carey Price to get the best of the Habs. Price finished with 25 saves.
The Bruins had a power-play opportunity 12 minutes into the first period but the Habs killed it off. They also had the man advantage six minutes into the second as P.K. Subban was caught holding the stick of Carl Soderberg, but the B’s again couldn’t get a decent look at Price’s net.
Montreal had 20 hits to the Bruins’ 14 in a physical first period that featured Bruins forward Milan Lucic drilling Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin along the boards, sending him to the locker room.
What they'll be saying: This series has had the makings of a seven-gamer since the puck dropped in Game 1. It will be the ninth Game 7 played between the two franchises, which is the most in professional sports - according to Elias Sports Bureau.
There was plenty of chippiness coming from the Bruins at the end of Game 6 as they attempted to send a message to the Canadiens. That will all likely be forgotten, of course, once the do-or-die game gets underway Wednesday but adds yet another element to the bitter feud.
Follow Metro Boston sports editor Matt Burke on Twitter @BurkeMetroBOS
