Canadiens close in on final four

Montreal defeat Boston 1-0 to take a 3-1 series lead.

Canadiens

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The Canadiens Roman Hamrlik, left, and Petteri
Nokelainen collide [GALLO/GETTY] 

The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 1-0 to move within one win of reaching the last four in the NHL’s Eastern Conference playoffs.

Patrice Brisebois scored the sole goal late in the second period, and Montreal’s rookie goaltender Carey Price posted his first playoff shutout.

The Canadiens, the No. 1 seed in the East, lead the best-of-seven, first-round series 3-1.

Carey, the fifth overall pick in the 2005 draft, stopped 27 shots.

Flyers 6, Capitals 3

In Philadelphia, Danny Briere had two goals and an assist, leading Philadelphia to a 2-1 series lead over Washington.

The game was tied 1-1 in the opening period when the Flyers scored twice in 17 seconds, and they were never headed.

Ducks 4, Stars 2

In Dallas, Chris Pronger scored two power-play goals and assisted on the first goal, as Anaheim cut its series deficit against Dallas to 2-1.

Dallas lost for the seventh time in its past eight home playoff games and missed a chance to take a 3-0 series lead.

Anaheim scored three goals on four shots in the first 15 minutes. Pronger scored again about early in the second period.

Avalanche 5, Wild 1

In Denver, Colorado used a three-goal first-period to rout Minnesota and tie the first-round playoff series at 2-2.

Avalanche goaltender Jose Theodore stopped 24 of 25 shots.

Minnesota collected an astounding 111 minutes of penalty time, against 43 for Colorado.

The Avalanche took a 3-0 lead after 11 minutes, and two power-play scores in the second period made it 5-0.

Theodore’s shutout bid ended at 3:11 of the third period.

Sharks 3, Flames 2

In Calgary, Alberta, Joe Thornton scored with just 9.4 seconds left in regulation time to help San Jose square its series against Calgary at 2-2.

Thornton tipped a shot from the point into the net, winning a game in which the Sharks trailed twice.

The Flames set a franchise low for shots on goal in a playoff game, mustering just 10.

Source: News Agencies