Bruins enjoy banner night

MONTREAL - With his team up one goal with just over three minutes remaining in regulation last night, Tim Thomas didn't think much of Montreal forward Tom Kostopoulos banging his stick on the ice and calling for the puck.

Kostopoulos, after all, was positioned well to Thomas's left. And when the grinding forward tried to get a piece of Patrice Brisebois's pass from the point, Kostopoulos's stick was practically in the next province, far too distant to prove a threat to Thomas's net.

But in a direct rebuke to angles, physics, and the weirdest bank shots taken on a pool table, Brisebois's pass skittered off Kostopoulos's stick, over Thomas, under the crossbar, and into the net, creating a 2-2 tie at 16:55 of the third period out of a result that looked sure to be a regulation victory.

"I knew the shot was going wide," Thomas said of Brisebois's attempt. "Then I saw a stick out there and I caught up to the puck when it was halfway in the air to the net. The puck isn't supposed to bounce in that kind of direction from a tip."

It looked like yet another bad break in a building full of horrors for the Bruins - and on a night the Canadiens were raising Patrick Roy's number to the rafters to boot. But Thomas wasn't shaken.

Instead, after a scoreless overtime, Thomas locked up his net, turning aside Alex Kovalev, Andrei Markov, and Saku Koivu in the shootout.

At the other end, Blake Wheeler beat goalie Carey Price to give his club a 3-2 win before 21,273 at the Bell Centre, the first time the Bruins registered a two-point regular-season decision in Montreal since Dec. 4, 2006.

As Thomas stuffed Koivu, Montreal's No. 3 shooter, to ice the victory, he raised his arms and gave several victorious pumps before his teammates arrived to offer their congratulations and thanks.

"Feels good," said Thomas. "To come in here and come out with a win is really good, especially in the shootout. I've seen Saku score on me on that shot and have him walking off the ice with his arms raised and all happy. I was happy to be the one to go off with my arms raised and happy today."

Thomas (33 saves), playing on back-to-back nights for the second time this season, was one of the heroes who emerged in a match when the Canadiens threw everything except the fists they wish had flown in the first period.

Heavyweight Georges Laraque was in Milan Lucic's face all night. He was aiming to exact revenge for defenseman Mike Komisarek, who has been out of action with a hurt shoulder since fighting Lucic in a 6-1 Bruins win Nov. 13. The Canadiens thumped the Bruins 49 times, led by six-hit nights from forward Steve Begin and defenseman Francis Bouillon.

But the Bruins didn't crack under the pressure. Rather, they thrived on it.

In the second period, at the tail end of a shift with fourth-liners Stephane Yelle and Shawn Thornton, Lucic shook his checkers and hustled for the far post when he saw Phil Kessel break on the other side. Kessel, attacking Ryan O'Byrne with the puck, turned the defenseman inside out, then dumped a shot on goal, where Lucic was in position to tap it past Price at 11:11, wiping out Montreal's 1-0 lead.

In the third period, the Bruins took what they thought might be the deciding lead. David Krejci found the puck in the neutral zone in front of his bench and heard his teammates yelling, "Three! Three! Three!" They were indicating to Krejci that he had a three-on-two rush that would soon seen a fourth Bruin enter the mix.

That player was Matt Hunwick, the defenseman jumping up into the play. Krejci made eye contact with Hunwick, stretched out the Montreal defense by going wide left, and slowing down, allowed the play to develop.

"That's just my play," said Krejci. "It's what I do best. That's what I want to do every game."

As a seam opened, Krejci slid the puck to Hunwick, who swiped a one-timer through Price at 9:41. Just for good measure, Chuck Kobasew, who was also part of the rush, slammed Hunwick's shot back into the net, providing what seemed like an exclamation point on a precious win in Montreal.

And though Kostopoulos made sure the Bruins didn't win in regulation, Thomas and Wheeler made sure to put the two points in Boston's column. Wheeler, going hard at Price, lost control of the puck at the last moment. It didn't matter, as the puck slithered behind Price, making Wheeler 2 for 3 in shootouts. Then it was up to Thomas, whose three shootout saves vaulted the Bruins into a position that few believed they could achieve: first place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Rangers.

"Such a heated rivalry," said Thornton. "You've got to love playing in these games. I'm glad we finally got the 'W' in this building."