The Montreal Canadiens are moving on to the Eastern Conference finals.
Goals from Dale Weise, Max Pacioretty and Daniel Briere led the Montreal Canadiens past the Boston Bruins 3-1 in Game 7 of the heated second-round series.
The final game of the best-of-seven series delivered the thrilling action one would expect from the decades-old rivalry that is the Habs and Bruins.
Before a roaring crowd at TD Garden in Boston, the Bruins outshot the Habs 30-18. Montreal goaltender Carey Price was outstanding in the first two periods of playoff action, stopping 29 of those shots.
Weise opened up the game's scoring with a tip-in goal early in the first period.
Habs’ winger Pacioretty, who was the subject of recent scrutiny due to lack of post-season production, silenced his critics by netting the second goal for the Canadiens in the second period.
Jarome Iginla netted a power play goal for the Bruins late in the second period to tighten the score.
Briere solidified the Canadiens’ victory with a late third-period goal.
Thursday night’s match marked the ninth time the Bruins and Canadiens faced off against each other in a Game 7.
Back home, more than 21,000 Habs fans packed the Bell Centre in Montreal to watch the game on the video scoreboard.
The Canadiens are advancing to the conference finals for just the second time since winning the Stanley Cup in 1993. They will have home-ice advantage against the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals.
Montreal was 1-1-1 this season against the Rangers. The Rangers are coming off a big Game 7 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Game 1 of the Habs-Rangers series will be Saturday afternoon.
