Montreal, QC (Best E Casino) - Carey Price turned in a brilliant performance, stopping 25 shots, as the Montreal Canadiens blanked the Boston Bruins, 5-0, in the deciding Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at the Bell Centre.

The 20-year-old rookie netminder was solid from beginning to end in this do- or-die contest. After stopping 11 shots by the close of the first period, his teammates matched that intensity the rest of the way, giving Price a chance to redeem himself after allowing 10 goals in the previous two games, both losses.

Price, who had two shutouts in the series, now attempts to follow in the footsteps of Hall of Famers Ken Dryden and Patrick Roy, who both led the Canadiens to a Stanley Cup title in their rookie campaigns.

"It's good to get the win," Price said. "There were a few ups and a few downs, but that's the playoffs for you. You can't get too high or too low. In the playoffs you always get adversity. There isn't a team that has won the Stanley Cup that hasn't faced adversity, but it's a great character builder for us.

"It's more important to get the win (rather than the shutout)," he added. "We could've won 10-9, and it would have been just as important."

Montreal will face either the New York Rangers or Philadelphia in the next round. The Flyers and third-seeded Washington are headed to a Game 7 in that quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday night, while the fifth-seeded Rangers finished off New Jersey in the first round.

Andrei Kostitsyn scored twice, while Michael Komisarek, Mark Streit and Sergei Kostitsyn also tallied for Montreal, which closed the latest chapter in one of sports' most enduring rivalries with a resounding victory before 21,273 rabid, towel-waving fans. Alex Kovalev added a pair of assists in the win.

The Habs, who are celebrating their first playoff series victory since 2004 -- also against Boston -- are now 27-0 in series in which they have led 3-1, and 11-8 all-time in Game 7, including 8-3 on home ice.

Tim Thomas made 30 saves for Boston, which hasn't won a playoff series since 1999. The Bruins are now 0-21 when they have trailed a series 3-1, but this was the first time they had forced a Game 7 in that situation.

"They (the players) battled right to the end," said Bruins head coach Claude Julien. "It builds character and extends their resiliency for the years ahead.

"We battled the Canadiens to a seventh game. No one ever expected us to be in that position, but give the other team credit," Julien continued. "Montreal took advantage of the breaks and capitalized on them. The last couple of games we focused on relaxed, sound play, but in the second half of this game, we went away from our plan. We squeezed our sticks, ran a few gun-and-shoot moves and that hurt us more."

Montreal opened the scoring just 3:31 into the contest, as Komisarek's shot from the point deflected off the stick of Petteri Nokelainen and found its way inside the left post.

Boston then had two power-play opportunities at 10:40 and 13:48 but failed to connect. Phil Kessel had the best scoring chance, but his shot from the left side was blocked by Price to keep it 1-0.

Streit's highlight-reel goal made it 2-0 near the midpoint of the second, as he took a drop pass in the slot from Maxim Lapierre, wove between a pair of defenseman, deked and slipped a backhand shot past Thomas at 10:45.

While the Bruins continued their struggle to solve Price, Andrei Kostitsyn boosted the Habs' lead to 3-0, as he beat Thomas from low in the slot with 4:47 remaining in the stanza.

The Canadiens were outshooting the Bruins, 25-17, heading to the third. Price then took care of business in the final 20 minutes, while Andrei Kostitsyn added a power-play marker with 2:02 left in the contest.

Sergei Kostitsyn punctuated the win when he scored with just 7.3 seconds remaining.

Game Notes

Montreal earned its 24th playoff-series win versus Boston...Bruins forward Glen Murray left the game in the first period with a mid-torso injury and did not return...Boston is 9-8 all-time in Game 7, including 0-4 on the road...This was the 19th time the Habs have played a decisive Game 7 in the postseason, but the first when they were leading a series 3-1.