Montreal-Boston series: A seventh game is needed.

Yesterday, game six of the first round series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins was nothing less than an emotional roller coaster ride for the fans gathered at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston.

The Boston Bruins deserve all the credit in this game. They have worked very hard and rallied from a one-goal deficit three times during the lenght of the game.

After a goal from Chris Higgins during the first period, Phil Kessel tied the game at 1-1 early into the second period. Then Tomas Plekanec getting out of the penalty box received a pass from Steve Begin and went all alone with goaltender Tim Thomas. Plekanec netted his first goal of the series and gave a 2-1 Montreal lead after two periods.

A great main course was served to the fans during the third period. A total of six goals were scored during this exciting last frame. Vladimir Sobotka tied the game at 2-2 early into the third on a very discutable play. The Bruins looked to be offside at the Montreal blue line but the linesman misjudged Boston's entrance in Montreal's zone on the play.

Francis Bouillon gave a 3-2 lead to Montreal halfway into the third period when his shot was deflected by a Bruins defensemen in front of Thomas. Only two minutes later, Milan Lucic deflected a shot from Aaron Ward to tie the game once again.

With under five minutes to go, Phil Kessel with his second goal of the game gave the lead to Boston for the first time. Montreal replied immediatly: Chris Higgins tied the game at 4-4 only eleven seconds later on a great feed from captain Saku Koivu.

Marco Sturm scored the game-winner for Boston with under three minutes to go in the contest.

Final score: Boston Bruins 5 - Montreal Canadiens 4 (The series is tied at 3-3)

Should the Bruins come back from a 1-3 deficit and win this series monday, a very unique milestone will be registered by Boston's head coach Claude Julien.

Julien, a former Canadiens head coach, has already registered a 1-3 series comeback against the Boston Bruins a few seasons ago. His team is now only a single game away from the comeback. With a win on monday, Julien will have a 1-3 series comeback with both Boston and Montreal in his resume.

(Picture: Claude Julien, Canadian Press.)