Pittsburgh Penguins 3 – Montreal Canadiens 4, Game Six, The Script

It’s déjà vu.

The Montreal Canadiens forced a seventh game in the Eastern Conference semifinal after beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3, just like they did in the first round against the Washington Capitals.

Michael Cammalleri led the Habs by scoring in two occasions, the first only a minute into the game; the second and his 11^th of the season came midway through the second.

Sidney Crosby’s drought came to an end after he batted the puck midair for the 1-1, still in the first.

Kris Letang scored his fifth of the postseason with a wrist shot that trickled through Jaroslav Halak, five minutes into the second. It was the only time the Penguins held the lead in the game.

The Canadiens responded with goals from Cammalleri and later with a slapshot from Jaroslav Spacek, who returned to the lineup after missing nine games due to illness.

Maxim Lapierre extended the lead in the third after an amazing individual play.

Pittsburgh tried a come-back as Bill Guerin deflected a slapper for the 4-3 but Montreal held the lines. The roof of the Bell Centre almost fell with the roar of the 21273 fans.

Game seven will be played Wednesday night at the Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh, at 7:00 pm.

Now, here is the game’s script:

The main characters:

The Hero: Michael Cammalleri

Eleven goals in 13 games and 16 points. The last player to put those numbers for the Canadiens in the playoffs was Vincent Damphousse in 1993, which also happens to be the last time the Stanley Cup paraded across St. Catherine.

Cammalleri earned the first star of last night’s game with his two goals. An ice-breaking  wrister only one minute into the game, and later (10:45 in the second) with a perfect backhander, top shelf on Fleury.

The guy is living his moment. His stats and personality have made of him the new sheriff in town. The city loves him, fans and press included, the rivals fear him. He even finds the time to keep his Twitter account updated.

The Villain: Matt Cooke

He tried to put his pest/grinder show but he totally failed. Cooke took two huge, momentum-killing penalties, one in the final minute of the second period and the other six minutes into the third with his team trailing 4-2.

The winger aimed to break the Habs’ poise but his plan backfired, spreading the frustration along his teammates, especially in the final minute of the second period when the Penguins tried to build some momentum with the score 3-2 in favor of Montreal.

The Sidekid: Jaroslav Spacek

Moments before the puck drop, the Canadiens received bad news: Hal Gill, Montreal’s blocking machine, was not in the lineup. The defender, from failing hands, threw the torch to Jaro Spacek, who held it high for 60 minutes.

No.6 came back after missing nine games due to a virus and turned into the leader of the defense. He scored Montreal’s second goal with a perfect slapper from the point and helped in the defense by blocking three shots.

Especial mention to: Maxim Lapierre and Josh Gorges.

The Extra: Benoit Pouliot

On his second shift he was caught in no man’s land in a play that led to Sidney Crosby’s goal. A complete mess by Montreal.

In his fifth shift -1:37 in the second- Lapierre went to the box for holding and Pouliot returned to the bench. He didn’t hit the ice again. A total of 2:43 of TOI.

Coach Martin’s patience seems to be wearing thin. Pouliot needs to step up and demonstrate to the team and the fans that it was a great idea to bring him from Minnesota mid-season. He had put hits, but as now the team needs him in from of the net ready to pull the trigger.

Game notes:

- Josh Gorges wore an A on his jersey, formally presenting his candidature for the captain job in Montreal.

- The Habs finally got a little help from the refs. One of the zebras blew the whistle too fast in a play in which Halak had trouble freezing the puck. The call killed a possible goal from Malkin.

- Both Tomas Plekanec and Sidney Crosby received penalties after the final whistle. Cross-checking and roughing, respectively.

- The Canadiens will open the Bell Centre on Wednesday so fans can watch game seven in HD screens at the arena. Tickets cost $7.50 and will be available at www.canadiens.com

The quotes:

“We were good enough and as good as we needed to be. What an opportunity now. Here we go -- Game 7!” – Michael Cammalleri.

“It's Game 6 in the second round, Stanley Cup champions; it's not easy -- elimination around the corner. You just want to go out there and bring your ‘A' game and I try my best.” – Jaroslav Spacek.

“We just haven't been able to get that extra (goal) unfortunately.” – Sidney Crosby.

“They have experience and they are going to go back and talk about their Game 7 against Washington. We have to mentally refocus and regroup and go back to Mellon Arena and put our best game out for Game 7.” – Coach Dan Bylsma.