OTHL -- Montreal's and Tampa Bay's season came down to one single game, and the game turned out to be a real thriller to boot. Montreal took controll of the first two periods, at least in the goal scoring deparment. Mike Modano (27) and Ladislav Nagy (18) scored a minute apart in the first period for Montreal. And Nagy added another goal late in the second period, putting the home team up against the wall, being 3-0 down with 20 minutes to play.
However, Tampa Bay got just the start they needed to the third period as Viktor Kozlov (20) scored after just 17 seconds. And when Keith Primeau added his 11th for the season three minutes later, then the home fans woke up and started to make some noise again. But Marco Sturm (26) did shutdown the crowd with a very timley goal six minutes into the period, breaking the Bolts third period momentum.
But Andrei Markov (6) and the Bolts closed the gap once more with a powerplay goal 8 minutes into the period. The Bolts now turned up the heat in an effort to tie up the game. But due to some late penalties the Bolts comeback hopes where crushed. And there season ended with a missed playoff spot. This while Montreal wrapped up the final eastern conference spot, and will now take on there arch rivals the Boston Bruins.
EASTERN CONFERENCE MATCHUPS:
Montreal Canadiens (8) at Boston Bruins (1)
Buffalo Sabres (7) at New Jersey Devils (2)
Pittsburgh Penguins (6) at Florida Panthers (3)
Toronto Maple Leafs (5) at Philadephia Flyers (4)
WESTERN CONFERENCE MATCHUPS:
Chicago Blackhawks (8) at Colorado Avalanche (1)
Dallas Stars (7) at Phoenix Coyotes (2)
Nashville Predators (6) at Detroit Red Wings (3)
San Jose Sharks (5) at Vancouver Canucks (4)