2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Blog - Conference Quarter-finals

After saying all week there weren’t any surprises he could throw at the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens general manager/head coach Bob Gainey pulled an ace from his sleeve in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarter-final Thursday night.

Gainey broke up his vaunted first line of Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev and Alex Tanguay, which had combined for 38 points in nine games since being formed, and instead played enforcer Georges Laraque alongside Koivu and Kovalev.

It didn’t result in a victory as Zdeno Chara’s power play blast from the point midway through the third broke a 2-2 tie and propelled the Bruins to a hard-fought 4-2 win, but the Canadiens hope that over the long haul Laraque’s physical presence can make a difference.

Taking the pressure off Kovalev

Chara is often matched up with Kovalev in a shutdown role, but most of his time Thursday night was spent trying to move Laraque from the front of the net or preventing him from getting to Bruins goalie Tim Thomas on rebound tries. And that was exactly Gainey’s plan.

“I thought Georges played well, he didn’t make errors with the puck, got a couple of shots on net and provided the Bruins with the challenge of moving his size around in the crease area,” Gainey said. “If his presence there pays off with some offensive results, it would be a real bonus for our team.”

Laraque’s presence hasn’t been very pronounced all season, as he’s battled injuries and the perception in Montreal that he wasn’t earning the three-year, $4.5 million free agent contract Gainey handed him last summer.

But Laraque said this week that there was a plan for how he would be used in the playoffs, and both he and Alex Tanguay have known since Monday that they would be swapping spots for Game 1. Laraque’s mission was to make life more difficult on Chara, and he feels it will eventually produce results for his teammates.

“That was just Game 1,” said Laraque, who logged a season-high 13:12 and got two shots on goal. “If you do this for a couple of games, eventually it will turn around and make it easier and easier for our skill guys to play against him.”

Chara our ‘heart and soul’: Julien

Bruins coach Claude Julien didn’t want to make much of the move, saying “there’s more to this game than Georges,” but he admired Chara’s ability to keep a level head in the face of constant temptation to take a retaliatory penalty against the Habs tough guy.

“He’s our heart and soul,” Julien said. “(I liked) the fact that he was disciplined and didn’t get sucked into penalties, which could have been easy for him to do. I liked the way he led our team tonight, and it was quite appropriate that he scored the winner.”

One player that did get sucked into an undisciplined penalty was Canadiens defenceman Josh Gorges, who was called for cross-checking P.J. Axelsson way behind the play, and the ensuing power play resulted in Chara’s game-winner.

Gorges wasn’t available to explain himself to reporters after the game, but Gainey said that was a penalty that was impossible to miss.

“It was very difficult for the referee to look the other way and not see that as a penalty,” Gainey said.

The Bruins may have dominated the season series with the Habs by winning five of the six games, but the two teams hooked up only once after Feb. 1. That April 9 game here at the Garden was an emotional and physical affair where the Bruins tried to physically intimidate the Canadiens, but ultimately played undisciplined hockey to allow the Habs back into a 3-1 game before prevailing in overtime.

That point gave Montreal a berth in these playoffs, but also appears to have set the tone for what promises to be a close series.

The Canadiens did the same thing in Game 1, erasing a two-goal deficit before the Bruins finally finished them off.

“That’s kind of what they do, they’re explosive,” said Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, who was solid with 26 saves for the Bruins. “The last game we played them in the regular season, we were up 3-1 and they scored three goals in the second period. They have that in them, and it’s got to be our team’s job to be ready for it and respond to it and not let them get the momentum.”

Kessel’s big night

The Canadiens were widely pleased with their effort in Game 1, but ultimately the Bruins still won, just as they were expected to.

Phil Kessel’s three-point effort was the catalyst, which is a far cry from what the talented Bruins winger did in Game 1 of last year’s series between these same teams. Julien decided to bench Kessel for the next three games based on his Game 1 effort a year ago, but now the burgeoning star is a completely changed man.

“(Kessel) obviously came leaps and bounds, especially when he got put back in the playoffs last year,” said his centre Marc Savard, who set up Chara’s winner. “It’s been a pleasure playing with him all season. He really brings that dynamic to our line and not too many guys have that speed and that shot.”

Kessel’s empty-netter to seal the win with 14 seconds to play set off two lengthy scrums triggered by the Canadiens, something Gainey attributed to frustration from his players.

But you couldn’t help but get the sense the rough play at the end was setting the stage for Game 2 Saturday night, and if that is more entertaining than Game 1, we’re in for quite a series.