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HABS NEWS

The Canadiens didn't quit on Thursday night and it paid off as they grabbed a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference seminfinals with a 4-3 overtime win on Thursday night.

Tom Kostopoulos scored 48 seconds into overtime as the Canadiens were able to overcome a tenacious Flyers team that has twice grabbed leads.

Alex Kovalev scored a game-tying goal in the final minute of the third period to force overtime after the Flyers looked destined to win the first game of the series after grabbing an early third-period lead on a lucky goal.

The Flyers had taken a 3-2 lead 19 seconds into the third when Carey price couldn't grab a shot from the point and the puck went off Joffrey Lupul's leg at the side of the net and trickled over the goal line.

After Lupul's goal, the Flyers kept the Canadiens at bay by clogging up the neutral zone, preventing the Habs from getting any momentum or good scoring chances.

But with Mike Richards in the box for kneeing Kovalev, the talented Russian scored his second of the game to send Game 1 into overtime


Despite being dominated for most of the opening period, the Flyers got on the scoreboard first after an unlucky bounce for the Canadiens.

R.J. Umberger was coming down the wing and threw the puck out in front of Carey Price when Patrice Brisebois, in an attempt to block the pass, deflected the puck off the post and into his own goal to give the Flyers a 1-0 lead at the 13:15 mark.

Veteran forward Jim Dowd, who played a short stint with the Canadiens, made it 2-0 with a blistering shot from the slot at 16:49.

The Canadiens missed several good scoring chances, including hitting two posts. Saku Koivu beat Flyers goalie Martin Biron betweemn the legs, but the puck hit the post to Biron's right. Several minutes later, Brisebois hit the post to Biron's left with a slapshot from the point.

Andrei Kostitsyn missed a golden chance on a penalty shot early in the second period afer being taken down on a breakaway by Flyers defenceman Derrian Hatcher. Kostisyn tried to deke Biron to his blocker side, but the goaltender read the move and had no problem stopping Kostitsyn.

But the Bellorussian was able to beat Biron several minutes later with a quick shot that Biron barely saw 9:44 into the second to narrow the Flyers' lead to 2-1. The goal was set up by Kostitsyn's brother, Sergei, who managed to get the pass to Andrei as he was being pulled down by a Flyers defender.

The Canadiens tied the game at 16:03 when Kovalev scored a controversial goal while killing a Mike Komisarek penalty. Tomas Plekanec took the initial shot, which went off Biron and into the air. With Biron searching for the puck, Kovalev swatted it out of mid-air. The Flyers claimed the puck was hit with a high stick, but after a lengthy video review, the goal was deemed good to the thunderous approval of the fans.

- Kevin Mio, Habs Inside/Out