2011 NHL Playoffs: Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins Analysis After Game 4

That was a bit of a heart-breaker for Montreal Canadiens fans.

You have to hand it to the Boston Bruins—they just wanted it more.

In the first overtime game of the series, the Bs overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat the Habs 5-4 in the fourth period.

The Canadiens began the game much as they had finished Game 3. The Bruins' defense found it hard to contain the Habs' explosive offense. They were firing with all cylinders until Claude Julien wisely called a timeout midway through the second period.

It was then that everything seemed to fall apart for the Montreal Canadiens.

Carey Price and the team just couldn't hold the lead.

I hate to say it, but Price looked just as shaky as his counterpart, Tim Thomas, on this night. I expected him to keep the game in check. It just wasn't his game, I suppose. To be fair, the Habs' offense was able to put up the goals, but the defense was absent in front of the goalie.

The Bruins were able to tie it up heading into the third.

An early power play goal put the Habs back up to start the aforementioned period. Obviously, it wasn't enough.

Michael Ryder scored the game winner in overtime, his second of the game. He looked as good as ever on this night. He scored the biggest goals of his career and they will haunt his former fans for a very long time.

If Habs' fans were able to take a smile away from the loss in Game 3, they will do just the opposite after tonight. The result of the game was a blown opportunity.

It remains to be seen if the Habs will be able to recover, much like the Bruins were able to after the first two games of the series.

But enough dwelling on the past.

The Canadiens must look ahead to the next game in order to win it.

They must sustain the pressure that they were able to assert in the first half of the game. They cannot play on their heels.

The Bruins will have to continue to exploit Price's weaknesses when they are evident. His glove hand looked slow tonight and the Bs were quick to jump on it.

Maybe Boston has reversed the roles on the Habs and they are now in their heads.

Or maybe the Bruins will become complacent as they had before the series began.

Game 5 is on Saturday. I'd say that we would be able to predict the game judging by the teams' comfort at the start, but we all know that it means virtually nothing.