Midway through the first period of Boston's 2-1 double overtime win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5, Bruins forward Michael Ryder made a difference-making play that went a long way in the final outcome of the game.
With Bruins' goalie Tim Thomas out of position and Canadiens' forward Tomas Plekanec with the puck and a seemingly open net in front of him, Ryder dropped to a knee and got his mitt in front of Plekanec's shot, saving what looked to be a sure goal for Montreal.
Ryder's teammates were still talking about the play a day later.
"Pretty amazing save. I think it was a glove save too," said Nathan Horton, who scored the game-winner nine minutes into the second overtime period. "[He was] using his body, he's not afraid to get hit with the puck and save a goal. What a huge play that was for us."
"It looked like he knew what he was doing," said defencemen Johnny Boychuk. "Everybody on the bench was just like 'Wow! He actually made that glove-hand save.'"
"He even dropped his stick like a goalie and then made the glove-hand save. It was kind of neat to see."
Head coach Claude Julien said that Ryder is one of those streaky players - and with his Game 5 heroics, combined with his strong performance in Game 4 – it's safe to assume the 31-year-old is on a hot streak this playoff series.
"Michael is one of those guys that when he's on his game, as you can see, he's a very good player," said Julien. "Yesterday he showed another side of himself, and obviously in Montreal scored two big goals."
"I think he's really feeling good about his game right now and he's certainly been a pretty good player for us in the last few games."
Ryder netted two goals in Boston's 5-4 overtime win to even the series in Game 4 at the Bell Centre. He has three points and a plus-2 rating in the series.
"He's had challenges in the last couple of years but this is a situation where you remember players for how they finish not how they start," said Julien. "Mike's having a pretty good playoffs so far and hopefully he continues to do that."
The Bruins, who lead their first-round series with the Canadiens 3-2, will look to advance to the conference semifinals Tuesday at 7pm et/4pm pt.
