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Brian Gionta #21, P.K. Subban #76, Tomas Plekanec #14, Scott Gomez #11 and Michael Cammalleri #13 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrate a goal against the Boston Bruins in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell Centre on April 26, 2011 in Montreal.Phillip MacCallum





There is a familiar ring to this.

The Montreal Canadiens enter a series as a heavy underdog, over-achieve in the early going, stumble midway through, are counted out, and stage an implausible rally to leave their detractors gasping and confused.

Now, the question that remains unanswered is whether the ending this time around will follow the same formula as last spring's blockbuster success.

After going up 2-0 in Boston, the Habs lost three in a row, only to knot matters in a Game 6 at home - the third successive Game 6 triumph at the Bell Centre.

In each of the previous two cases, the Habs completed the comeback in Game 7.

They want to make it a trifecta on Wednesday, which is why there was little in the way of exuberant displays after the narrow 2-1 victory over Boston.

"We've got to get out of here and get to work tomorrow, we don't have much time to celebrate. It's not baseball. You want champagne? Do you need a drink or something?" Montreal defenceman Hal Gill said when asked about the team's mood after the game.

Habs goalie Carey Price survived some anxious moments to make fine saves on Patrice Bergeron and Chris Kelly - parked on the edge of the crease in the late going - to keep his team in it.

The win broke a seven-game playoff losing streak for Price at the Bell Centre. Afterward the exhausted netminder sighed in contentment and said "it just means we were about due for one."

If Boston had won the lion's share of fortunate breaks, the balance edged in Montreal's direction as Brad Marchand inexplicably kissed a tap-in off the post in the second period - it was one of several near-misses for Boston.

Now the Bruins have less than 24 hours to banish thoughts of last year's playoff collapse against Philadelphia.

"You've got to relax and get ready to play a one-game series now. We worked all year to get home ice and we're going home. We'll get a lot of rest tonight and focus on what we have to do," said Bruins veteran Mark Recchi.

Montreal's Game 6 hero, as he was in identical circumstances against the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins last year, was sniper Michael Cammalleri.

"I've got to give my dad credit for the pep talk today, he flew in. So Leo Cammalleri, thanks for the pep talk," said Cammalleri, who scored the opening goal for the third consecutive Game 6, and added an assist on the winner.

On the first goal, Cammalleri managed not only to draw a too-many-men penalty by firing a puck at Boston's Adam McQuaid as he frantically tried to reach his bench after hopping on the ice prematurely, he drew a slashing call on Dennis Seidenberg on the faceoff that followed to give Montreal a first-period five-on-three.

"You know, I'd like to take full credit, but sometimes these plays happen so quick you don't know whether you meant to do them or not. It was a puck where I didn't like my body position in the zone and I didn't want to make a play that could turn the puck over at that point," Cammalleri said. "I just saw a bunch of action over there and just threw it over there thinking it was a safe play that would avoid an icing call."

Cammalleri was on hand 1:07 later to rifle a one-timer past Tim Thomas.

If the series between these bitter rivals was a comparatively penalty-free affair in the first five games, the officials were busier this night.

First referee Kevin Pollock waved off a Brian Gionta goal in the early going because he'd lost sight of the puck - at least one rubber chicken was thrown on the ice. Then fellow referee Chris Lee waved off what looked like a sure penalty when Montreal's Paul Mara hit Boston's Rich Peverley with a high stick.

In all, there would be a series-high 12 penalties assessed - Boston contrived to go 0-for-4 on the power-play are now 0-for-19 on the series, which is the same kind of futility Washington showed in last year's first-round exit.

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