As sure as Shawn Thornton's swagger and his unmistakable chuckle at the Canadiens after game five, the stage was set for Montreal to come out with their best game of the series. What was uncertain was whether or not it would be enough to to force a game seven. We now have the answer to that question.

From Lars Eller to Dale Weise, from Andrei Markov to Nathan Beaulieu, from Carey Price to Max Pacioretty and Thomas Vanek, this was as complete of a game as the Canadiens could've mustered. It started with a fortuitous bounce, it ended with the Canadiens taking luck out of the equation.

Highlights included a bone crushing shift for Alexei Emelin on the penalty kill, in the first period--regarded as, perhaps, the best of his career; 2:12 hemmed into their own end by a relentless Boston forecheck with Milan Lucic coming up empty on the Bruins' best chance of the night; a patchwork connection between Nathan Beaulieu and Max Pacioretty for the game's second goal--the greatest relief of Pacioretty's life; two empty-netters for Thomas Vanek; and who will ever forget David Desharnais' effort to preserve a shutout for Carey Price, pulling a sure goal off the line as a measure of the desperation the Canadiens exhibited all night?

The deafening roar of the Bell Centre faithful willed that puck off Kevan Miller's stick, barely two minutes into the game, and the Canadiens didn't look back. It was a raucous, as nerves turned to elation for Montreal.

Beaulieu played less than six minutes in the first two periods, and his impact on the game was enormous in that time. He was fortunate to be on the ice for the game's first goal, but the second goal was a product of the poise he played with all evening. The rookie defender joined a support group of Weise, Weaver, Emelin, Daniel Briere, Brandon Prust, Brian Gionta, Michael Bournival, Rene Bourque, and Josh Gorges to supply the Canadiens with the energy they needed to sustain to the very end.

Tomas Plekanec rebounded exceptionally well. Brendan Gallagher was largely unstoppable, failing to make this a blowout by missing two golden opportunities that you'd have thought would've rocked the Canadiens reeling. Pacioretty and Vanek found the net. Desharnais was on a mission on both ends of the rink. Markov led, and as a result, Subban wasn't on an island for this one. And Eller continued on his excellent playoff run. Montreal's best players were their best players on the night, and none were better than Price.

Claude Julien said he expects the Bruins to win game seven, and Michel Therrien retorted that "anything can happen,".

Anything could've happened in game six, but Therrien had his finger on the pulse of his team, noting their attitude was in the right place for their best effort to prevail.

And so, this series offers hockey fans the gift they deserve. For a ninth time in this war of epic battles, the Canadiens and Bruins lock horns in a do-or-die contest for both teams; game seven.
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1) Wednesday will be a sad day. There's nothing that comes close to rivaling what these two teams have against each other. Both have competed at the highest level to make this series exactly what you would hope for it to be.

2) The trade for Mike Weaver is one of the best hockey stories of the year--in any market. It might just be one of the best sports stories. Plucked out of the doldrums of draft lottery-bound Florida, laughed off as an eighth defenseman on arrival; from anonymous to infamous in hockey's hottest market. From supposed eighth defenseman to indispensable fabric of the lineup, all for the price of a 2015 fifth-rounder.

It was assumed that Marc Bergevin made this deal to account for the extended loss of Josh Gorges to injury. Bergevin took to the airways on deadline day and proclaimed he'd have made the deal regardless, and that he knew what he was acquiring when he made this move. He wasn't lying. Weaver was the stability the Canadiens were hoping they could obtain between Douglas Murray and Francis Bouillon. A depth defender acquired by a career depth defender.

3) There are plenty of I-told-you-sos to go around for the fans of the Montreal Canadiens when it comes to Nathan Beaulieu. He gets to belt it out the loudest. That was an I-told-you-so game from him with the volume on full blast.

4) This quote from P.K. Subban: "I can't wait for the crowd, the noise, the energy in the building. I can't wait to take that all away from them," is calculated. It's bulletin board material, no doubt. But if anyone has earned the right to make such a statement it's Subban. It was a pure expression of how he must feel after six games that have packed a lifetime's worth of experience in for Subban.

The Canadiens have the balance on their bulletin board. They won't erase that image of Thornton laughing at them, of Lucic flexing his muscles, of the chest thumping that's given everyone a glimpse of swagger the Bruins have earned.

5) Price vs. Rask. That's the main storyline of game seven. It's the beginning of a goaltending duel that we're going to see for years to come. It's going to be the end of a remarkable season for one of them.

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