MONTREAL (AP) - Michael Ryder scored late in the second period and Tim Thomas made 23 saves to lead the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night and a commanding lead in their first-round playoff series.
Phil Kessel, Shawn Thornton, Chuck Kobasew also scored for Boston, which increased its lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal to 3-0 despite the absence of left wing Milan Lucic, who sat out a one-game league suspension.
Ryder, a healthy scratch for all but four of Montreal's 12 playoffs games last season, put Boston ahead 17:21 into the second period.
Advertisement