STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS : Bruins Use Power Play to Beat Canadiens

Mariusz Czerkawski, who was playing in Sweden two weeks ago, had a goal and an assist. Al Iafrate, obtained last month in a trade, contributed excellent defense and solid checking.

But it was the return of a familiar player, Ray Bourque, that turned the Bruins from a ragged regular-season team into a solid playoff unit as Boston opened its series against Montreal with a 3-2 victory Saturday night.

Bourque, who sat out the last 11 games of the regular season because of a knee injury, had two assists against the Canadiens and helped stabilize a power play that was struggling coming into the playoffs.

The Bruins, who scored on only two of their final 39 power plays during the regular season, got all three of their goals against Montreal with a man advantage--including goals by Adam Oates and Ted Donato only 51 seconds apart late in the second period.

Bourque said Iafrate’s crunching hits in the Bruins’ defensive end disrupted the Canadiens’ attack and also credited him for the power-play success.

“I think we worked well on the power play tonight,” said Bourque, whose two assists tied him for ninth in career playoff assists with former Canadien Jean Beliveau with 97. “With a guy with that much ability and his talent, things are going to happen for us.”

Boston plays host to Montreal on Monday night in Game 2 of the opening-round series. The Bruins have defeated the Canadiens in four of their last five playoff series.

The victory broke a Boston streak of eight consecutive playoff losses. The Bruins were eliminated in four straight by Pittsburgh in the second round in 1992 and in four games by Buffalo in the first round last year.

“Al (Iafrate) and Eric Lindros are the two biggest, strongest men in the league. When you make them a little bit ornery, they become a little bit bigger and a little bit stronger,” Boston Coach Brian Sutter said. “But it was good to have Raymond (Bourque) back there. He kept it simple, and we did what we had to do.”

Brian Bellows and Mike Keane scored for Montreal, which won only one of its final 10 road games during the regular season.

Despite the loss, Patrick Roy was magnificent in goal for Montreal. He made four excellent saves in the second period, including a stop against Oates on a breakaway and a follow shot by Glen Wesley.

“Patrick can’t be faulted. They scored on a five-on-three (advantage) and I think the winning goal was picked up in the air,” said Montreal Coach Jacques Demers. “We had our chances, but we didn’t put the puck in the net. It’s not that this team was outplayed.”