Nathan Horton saves numerous jobs, sends Canadiens back to Clown College

Given the stakes (Claude Julien, possibly Peter Chiarelli and the nucleus of the team's jobs all on the line), it's hard to remember a more important victory for the down-trodden Bruins franchise than last night.

It was only the first round so we'll hold off on the duck boats (no riots like in Montreal for first round wins) but this win can go a long way in eradicating some terrible history. The 4-3 overtime win by the Bruins in Game 7 over Montreal at TD Garden was Boston's first Game 7 triumph in 17 miserable years.

It's also the first time (0 for 26 previously) that the team had rallied from being down 0-2 in a playoff series. Oh and they also were the first team to advance despite no power-play goals in seven games (0 for 21).

There's still plenty of work to be done (gotta get past this round to save Julien's head) but until the Eastern Conference semifinals start on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, we have to savor this one. Nothing better than sending the Canadiens home for the summer and not having to see their pathetic brand of hockey anymore.

Just like in Game 5, Horton was the overtime hero as he ripped a slap shot past Montreal goaltender Carey Price (30 saves) 5:43 into OT. Milan Lucic had the primary assist with a nice pass back while Adam McQuaid had the other assist after pinching to keep the puck in the zone.

The Bruins won four of the last five games in the series, including all three overtime contests (Game 4, 5 and 7).

Game 7 couldn't have started any better for Boston as they went up 2-0 just 5:33 into it. Johnny Boychuk (from Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron) and Mark Recchi (from Andrew Ference) did the honors as Boychuk's shot in traffic found the net and Recchi was uncovered right in front of Price before he put a wrist shot over Price's glove hand. It was the first goal of the series for both guys.

As I always say though, nothing is ever easy for the Bruins. So of course they quickly coughed up the lead as Yannick Weber (2nd of the series) cut it to 2-1 with a power-play goal at 9:49 (from Roman Hamrlik and Mike Cammaleri).

Even more painful was the tying goal as Tomas Plekanec (2nd of the series) walked in on a breakaway and beat Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas (34 saves) with a shorthanded goal at 5:50 of the second period.

Chris Kelly scored his third of the series at 9:44 of the third period and it looked like maybe it would hold up. Yeah right, a high sticking penalty by Patrice Bergeron with 2:37 left in regulation led to P.K. Subban's second goal of the series. The power-play missile didn't so much go by Thomas as through him. Plekanec and Brian Gionta assisted on the goal that took all the energy out of the Garden.

Could the Bruins collapse again? In another Game 7? Against the Canadiens? Not on this night. Horton got it done and this team can collectively breath an enormous sigh of relief.

Bring on the Flyers, it's time to get some payback for the once-in-a-lifetime collapse the Bs experienced last spring to them in the Eastern Conference semifinals (losing a 3-0 series lead and a 3-0 lead and Game 7). Can't ask for much more than this matchup.

Why do we even bother?

Before Game 2 had even started, the Boston Bruins were already cooked. Zdeno Chara spent Friday night in a hospital due to dehydration and he was a last-minute scratch for last night's pivotal game at TD Garden.

Some teams might use their Captain's absence as motivation but oh no, not our Bruins. The most fragile team in the NHL and maybe all of sports completely folded under the pressure (as always) and fell flat on their face in a depressing as hell 3-1 loss.

Montreal now leads the series 2-0 as it shifts to the Bell Centre for Game 3 tomorrow night.

All five goals that the Canadiens have scored so far in the first two games are direct results of egregious turnovers by the Bruins in their own end.

To make matters worse, Boston spotted Montreal two goals last night in the first 2:20 of the first period. After Game 1's debacle, I said Game 2 would be all about the first goal.

Well 43 seconds in and Mike Cammalleri scored from James Wisniewski. At 2:20, Montreal was on a power play when Mathieu Darche scored from Cammalleri.

You couldn't possibly script a worse beginning and just like that, the Bruins were done in the game and probably the series. They've never won a series (in 26 tries) after being down 0-2.

Carey Price is a good goaltender but the Bruins are making him look the second coming of Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek. Price stopped 34 shots but once again, Boston failed to get bodies in front of him or capitalize on the few rebounds he allowed.

He made one spectacular save as he robbed Milan Lucic with his glove after Looch was set up right in front of the net.

On the flip side, can we agree that Tim Thomas is simply a regular season monster? Much like Claude Julien is a regular season coach? Up to this point, how can we say that either does anything but pee down their leg in the playoffs?

The Bruins finally got on the board with their first goal of the series at 7:38 of the second period as Brad Marchand fed a perfect tip in to Patrice Bergeron. Mark Recchi also assisted.

Unfortunately, all that hard work was nullified by Thomas (23 saves) who gave up a juicy rebound right to Yannick Weber. He scored at 17:21 of the second period from Lars Eller and Roman Hamrlik. That was it, you knew the Bruins had absolutely no chance to recover from that.

Honestly, they are done. Short of Julien being fired today and Tuukka Rask getting the surprise start in Game 3, I don't see how this team can overcome all their playoff shortcomings. The Canadiens are playing with more desperation and heart while the Bruins continue to add new head-scratching chapters to their pathetic legacy.