MONTREAL — The three goals Montreal right wing Rene Bourque scored in Tuesday night’s Game 5 at the Bell Centre look gaudy in the box score of the Canadiens 7-4 win, but the weight of their individual impact in terms of when they were scored is difficult to measure on a stat sheet.
Bourque, who entered the game with five goals and three assists in 15 playoff games, gave the Canadiens a 4-1 lead with his first of the hat-trick night at 6:54 of the second period in what looked like a game headed for a Montreal blowout.
Who knew his second goal would be the biggest of the game?
It came at 15:10 of the second after the Rangers had erased the Montreal lead to tie it at 4-4 with a frenetic rally. It gave the Canadiens a 5-4 lead they would never relinquish.
“[Dale] Weise made a great play to me,’’ Bourque said of the goal. “I called for the puck early as we were crossing in the neutral zone and somehow it got through. It was nice to get it in there and put one in.’’
The goal served two critical purposes for Montreal: It stopped the Rangers momentum and settled down the Canadiens.
“Great game by Bourquey,’’ Canadiens wing Brendan Gallagher said. “Not only scoring three goals, but three very, very timely goals. Every time when we needed someone to step up for us he was there for us. He’s been a guy all playoffs that’s really stepped up.
“You could tell he was feeling it. He had a couple chances that the goalie [Henrik Lundqvist] made good saves on as well and hit a post. Even the empty-net [attempt] was pretty close. He could have had a few more. You could see he was feeling it and every time he was on the ice he wanted to be a difference maker.’’
That he was.
Bourque’s third goal, also assisted by Weise, gave the Canadiens a 6-4 lead at 6:33 of the third period and allowed them some breathing room.
“He’s been coming up big in the playoffs, and that was a great individual performance by him,’’ Canadiens wing Max Pacioretty said. “He was the difference in the game, a big boost for us.’’
Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said Bourque’s second goal to break the 4-4 tie and settle the game down for Montreal “gave us the confidence to play’’ again.
“Rene Bourque played a great game,’’ Therrien said. “He was a force out there. On the forecheck, he took the man, he was moving his feet, he was going hard to the map mat. He’s a very good scorer, so definitely that was a great performance by him.’’