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PLAYOFF SERIES: Eastern Conference quarterfinals; Bruins lead 2-0.
Andrew Raycroft hasn't had any trouble carrying his strong regular season play into the playoffs.

His next test comes Sunday with his first postseason road game.

Raycroft and the Boston Bruins look to push the rival Montreal Canadiens to the brink of elimination when their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series shifts to the Bell Centre.

While Raycroft is a leading contender for the Calder Trophy as the league's top rookie, using a first-year goaltender in the playoffs can often be trouble. Despite Raycroft's excellent regular season, many believed Montreal had the goaltending edge in this series with Jose Theodore, a former Hart and Vezina Trophy winner.

Through two games, however, Raycroft has looked every bit as sharp as he did during the regular season. He posted a 3-0 shutout in his playoff debut in Game 1 Wednesday, and stopped 25 of 26 shots in a 2-1 overtime win in Game 2 Friday.

Another strong performance by Raycroft on Sunday could move the Bruins one victory away from advancing to the conference semifinals for the first time since 1998-99.

``We've grown to expect it from him because he's done it all year long for us,'' Bruins coach Mike Sullivan said. ``Whenever we were in a situation where we needed a victory, he really made the critical saves for us. We may take it for granted, but we've come to expect it from him.''

While playing well at home has given the Bruins a decided advantage in this series, Raycroft -- who grew up a Canadiens' fan -- knows playing on the road will be a different challenge.

``Now we've got to go to Montreal and they're going to be fired up,'' he said. ``They will have a big crowd and the whole city will be excited. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us.''

Raycroft isn't the only Bruins rookie having a strong series.

Center Patrice Bergeron, who turns 19 on July 24, scored 86 seconds into overtime Friday to send Boston to Montreal with a 2-0 series lead.

Bergeron has a goal and two assists in this series, figuring in three of Boston's five goals.

``Bergeron has done nothing but impress us all year long,'' Sullivan said. ``From Day 1, he just raised eyebrows. He really understands the game for a guy his age. For most of us, it takes a couple hundred games to figure it out.''

During the regular season, Boston's top line of captain Joe Thornton, Glen Murray and Mike Knuble often carried the team. Thornton, however, is still bothered by an upper body injury and is clearly not 100 percent.

With the top line limited to one point in two games, the unit of Michael Nylander, Sergei Samsonov and Bergeron has been the Bruins' most effective one. That trio has combined for three goals and eight assists in two games.

``They've created a lot of chances,'' Sullivan said. ``We obviously had an inclination when we put them together that they had the makings of being a dynamic line. They're three pretty talented hockey players.''

The Bruins don't figure to be intimidated playing away from home, since they had the NHL's best road record during the regular season (23-7-6-5).

Because Montreal has scored just one goal in this series, it's hard to blame Theodore for his team's position, but he has clearly been outplayed by Raycroft.

Bergeron's winning goal in Game 2 appeared to be stoppable.

``You seldom see nice goals in overtime,'' Montreal coach Claude Julien said. ``This one hit his glove. It didn't look like a dangerous shot. You need the breaks in this game. Sometimes you get them, sometimes you don't. What we have to do now is go home, win one and we're right back in it.''

Though Montreal's only goal in this series came on the power play, the Canadiens are just 2-for-36 with the man advantage in their last 10 games.

Game 4 is Tuesday at Montreal.

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Bruins - 104 points; 2nd seed. Canadiens - 93 points; 7th seed.

PLAYOFF TEAM LEADERS: Bruins - Nylander, 2 goals; Samsonov, 4 assists; Nylander and Samsonov, 4 points; Thornton, 6 PIM. Canadiens - Patrice Brisebois, 1 goal; Saku Koivu and Alex Kovalev, 1 assist, Brisebois, Koivu and Kovalev, 1 point; Koivu, 6 PIM.

PLAYOFF SPECIAL TEAMS: Bruins - Power play: 16.7 percent (2 for 12). Penalty killing: 90.9 percent (11 for 12). Canadiens - Power play: 9.1 percent (1 for 11). Penalty killing: 83.3 percent (10 for 12).

GOALTENDER: Bruins - Raycroft (2-0, 1 SO, 0.49 GAA); Felix Potvin (no appearances). Canadiens - Theodore (0-2, 2.47); Mathieu Garon (no appearances)

Montreal 3, Boston 2

April 11, 2004

MONTREAL (AP) -- Alex Kovalev finally showed up in Montreal, just in time to get the Canadiens back in the playoff hunt.

Kovalev scored two first-period goals, both assisted by goalie Jose Theodore, and Montreal beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 Sunday night.

Andrei Markov also scored for the Canadiens, who now trail their first-round playoff series 2-1 after scoring just once while losing the first two games in Boston.

An enthusiastic, sellout Bell Centre crowd of 21,273 erupted in cheers on both of Kovalev's goals, each of them giving Montreal a lead, the second one for good.

``There was frustration at the end of the season because I hadn't scored many goals, but the fans stayed behind me,'' Kovalev said. ``I wanted to show them the player I am and to come up big. I knew that if I kept working on my game that eventually it would turn around. I knew I was getting close. I was getting more comfortable.''

Kovalev had just four points, including an assist on Patrice Brisebois' goal in Friday's 2-1 overtime loss, in his first 14 games with the Canadiens, who acquired him in a trade with the New York Rangers on March 2.

``You guys have been giving him a hard time since he got here, but he's one of the most talented guys in the league and he can do that any night,'' Bruins goalie Andrew Raycroft said.

Theodore set up the rushes that led to both goals and became just the third goalie to record two assists in an NHL playoff game, and the second -- following Edmonton's Grant Fuhr -- to do so in the same period.

``When I moved the puck and made the right play, I was able to beat one or two guys with the pass, and they did the rest,'' Theodore said. ``It was just fun to hear my name like that for the two assists.''

Boston's Andy Hilbert scored in his first career playoff game in the first period, and Brian Rolston drew the Bruins within one when he scored early in the third.

Hilbert was in the lineup in place of center Michael Nylander, who the team said had a flu. Nylander led Boston with two goals and two assists in the first two games.

``When I went out there before the game I had such chills and goose bumps going up my spine, I didn't even know I had a helmet on,'' Hilbert said. ``It was really exciting to get my first game in, but hopefully next time we can pull out a (win).''

Theodore, who allowed rookie Patrice Bergeron's goal 1:26 into overtime Friday, made 21 saves. Raycroft, who had a shutout in his first playoff game Wednesday, stopped 29 shots.

Electrified by a pregame slide show on the ice depicting their storied franchise's 24 Stanley Cup-winning teams and Hall-of-Fame legends Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau and Guy Lafleur, the Montreal fans were ready for a current player to step forward.

Kovalev was ready to be that player, with a little help from Theodore.

Trailing a rush initiated by Theodore and led by Canadiens captain Saku Koivu, the Russian winger came through the slot and took a backhand pass from Koivu before beating Raycroft from a sharp angle 2:16 into the game.

``It was a must win for us,'' Koivu said. ``The first game at home and being down 2-0, obviously there's a chance of being too emotional and getting away from the game plan. But I thought we controlled our emotions pretty well and we were able to get the first goal, and that kind of helped us at the beginning.''

Despite playing just 31 seconds in the opening period, Hilbert tied it at 6:34. He stopped Montreal defenseman Sheldon Souray's clearing attempt at the blue line and beat Theodore with a long wrist shot.

Theodore started another scoring play that led to Kovalev's second goal at 15:24. The goalie gave the puck to defenseman Craig Rivet, who shot along the right boards from behind Montreal's net.

Kovalev flipped the puck past defenseman Hal Gill at the Canadiens' blue line and broke down the ice on a two-on-one with Richard Zednik before beating Raycroft with a quick shot from the faceoff circle into the top right corner.

Markov gave Montreal a two-goal lead when he scored on a 4-on-4 in the second period. Koivu got his second assist on the goal as Markov scored into an open left side off a rebound of Zednik's shot.

Rolston ensured a tight finish when he scored 3:35 into the third period on a slap shot that struck Theodore's left skate and beat him through the legs.

``They were a lot more desperate than we were tonight,'' Raycroft said. ``We know we're still in the driver's seat and we just have to come out and put forth the same effort we had in Boston.''

The Bruins got riled about an apparent injury to Montreal's Mike Ribeiro in the final minute. Ribeiro lay on the ice after colliding with Boston's Mike Knuble, yet remained on the bench for the end of the game.

``Obviously as you can see he got hurt really badly and I really felt bad for him,'' Bruins right wing Martin Lapointe said sarcastically. ``The way heacted out there, I thought he needed a stretcher.''

Notes

Fuhr was the first goalie to record two assists in the same period on April 22, 1991 against Los Angeles. Pittsburgh's Tom Barrasso also had two assists against New Jersey on April 20, 1993. ... Hilbert managed three shifts in the first period despite his limited ice time. He played 6:03 overall. ... C Craig McDonald also made his playoff debut for Boston. ... The Canadiens havenever been swept in the first round of a best-of-seven series.