Bruins 2, Sabres 1

Mark Recchi charged into the right corner with the game and the puck up for grabs.

The Bruins' 42-year-old forward outmuscled 23-year-old Tim Kennedy and passed to Patrice Bergeron, who got off a quick shot from the low right circle. It was too quick for Sabres star goalie Ryan Miller.

That goal with 7:03 left in the game broke a tie and gave Boston a win on Monday night and a 2-1 lead over Buffalo in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference playoffs.

"That was a veteran play, for sure," Bergeron said. "He went in that corner with one thing in mind, to win that battle."

Kennedy was at the end of his shift and "didn't have much left in the tank," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said.

With about a 20-pound weight advantage over the rookie, Recchi had a plan in mind as he raced into the corner behind the Sabres' net.

"He was trying to lean into me and I got him just enough to knock him off balance," said Recchi, a veteran of 154 playoff games with five teams. "I was fortunate to keep control of the puck, which is more what I was concerned about. I needed to create a little bit of a gap so I could make a play. I was lucky he fell to give me a little bit more time."

Miller, the starting goalie on the United States team that won the silver medal at the Winter Olympics, got a piece of Bergeron's shot. It wasn't enough.

"I just tried to step out and take a lane," Miller said. "He got all of it. For me it was trying to take it in the right spot. I didn't get it in the right spot. I got a little arm on it."

The sixth-seeded Bruins are home again for Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Capitals 5, Canadiens 1

Alexander Ovechkin scored the fourth goal of Washington's second-period outburst, leading the Capitals past Montreal for a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series.

Semyon Varlamov, who got the nod over Jose Theodore, made 26 saves in his first start of the series for Washington, which has won two in a row after losing the opener 3-2 in overtime.

Boyd Gordon, Brooks Laich and Eric Fehr each scored within a span of 7:27 as the Capitals chased Jaroslav Halak 8:33 into the second.