Qualified for the playoffs.

Tonight, the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins disputed a wild match. Both teams gave an intense effort in this one. Both teams skated hard, hitted hard, fought and almost clawed at each other.

A countless number of penalty minutes sparkled the second period as Boston took a three to one lead. With one more goal, the Bruins would have defeated the Canadiens at this point.

With their playoff berth on the line, the Canadiens worked even harder and scored three unanswered goals to take a four to three lead after two frames. The rookie Matt D'Agostini made his presence felt with two very important goals during the second period.

The stakes were high for the Canadiens and when the Bruins tied the game up early into the third frame, an alarm sounded on the Canadiens bench. More than ever their backs were against the wall and a goal was needed. The team continued to press Boston and got decent scoring chances. But goaltender Tim Thomas did everything in his power to keep the score tied at four at the end of regulation.

Mark Recchi scored the winning goal for Boston during the overtime period. But the ultimate task for Montreal was already achieved. The last point required to clinch a playoff berth was in the bank.

Final score: Boston Bruins 5 - Montreal Canadiens 4 (overtime)

(Picture: Canadian Press.)