MONTREAL – David Krejci and Nathan Horton scored first-period goals to lead Boston to a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday night as the Bruins won on the road after dropping the first two games of their first-round series at home.
Tim Thomas stopped 34 shots for Boston and Rich Peverley scored in the second. Chris Kelly scored into an empty net with 25.6 seconds remaining.
Bruins captain Zdeno Chara returned to the lineup after missing Saturday night's 3-2 loss to Montreal after he was hospitalized overnight for dehydration.
Andrei Kostitsyn, who also missed Game 2, scored the Canadiens' first goal with Boston holding a 3-0 lead 7:03 into the middle period. Tomas Plekanec drew Montreal within one early in the third.
Carey Price made 21 saves after stopping 65 of 66 in the Canadiens' two wins at the TD Bank Garden and posting a shutout in Thursday's series opening 2-0 win.
Game 4 is Thursday night.
The Bruins will practice in Lake Placid on Tuesday and Wednesday, the site of the U.S. hockey team's "Miracle on Ice" in the 1980 Olympics. Coming into the Bell Centre facing a 2-0 series deficit with a streak of six straight playoff losses, it looked as though Boston might need a miracle of its own to solve Price.
Chara, who played his first game in Montreal since his devastating hit on Max Pacioretty, saw his customary boos turn to cheers when the Bruins were called for too many men 1:08 in after the 6-foot-9 Boston captain jumped on the ice with fellow defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.
The sold-out crowd of 21,273 was silenced moments later when Seidenberg drew an assist as Krejci beat Price for his first goal at 3:08.
Chara helped set up Horton's goal at 14:38 as the Bruins stretched their first lead of the series to 2-0.
After playing virtually error-free hockey through the first two games in Boston, the Canadiens lost their composure in the first period and that carried over into the second.
Price's clearing pass struck Bruins winger Mark Recchi's skate and bounded to Peverley, who fired the puck into Montreal's unguarded net 2:02 into the middle period to make it 3-0.
The Canadiens began their comeback bid with Kostitsyn's first goal at 7:03. Michael Cammalleri left a drop pass for Kostitsyn, who burst around Chara and beat Thomas between the pads with a backhand along the ice.
Cammalleri got his second straight assist as Plekanec drew Montreal within 3-2 4:03 into the third. The Czech center spun around and his shot beat Thomas through the legs again with a shot from the right corner.
Notes: Canadiens Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau was given a huge standing ovation during the pregame presentation when he brought a lit torch from the team's dressing room, handing it off to a young hockey player in a Montreal uniform. ... The Canadiens have lost each of their last two playoff series in which they have won the first two games on the road. Montreal lost to Carolina in six in 2006 after winning its first two on the road, and also lost four straight to the New York Rangers in 1996 after taking a 2-0 lead with a pair of wins at Madison Square Garden. ... Bruins D Shane Hnidy sat out with Chara's return. ... Canadiens D Yannick Weber did not dress after playing right wing and scoring his first career playoff goal Saturday night.
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