In the first period, the Bruins had taken a 1-0 advantage, the first lead they held over the Canadiens all season, when Milan Lucic took a feed from Marc Savard and roofed a shot over goalie Carey Price (29 saves). But in the second period, the Canadiens wiped out the advantage when the gritty fourth line of Smolinski, Steve Begin, and Tom Kostopoulos forced a defensive-zone turnover, crashed the net, and beat Tim Thomas at 4:26 (the goal by Kostopoulos) to make it a 1-1 game.
And by extra time, the rolling Montreal attack had discovered its rhythm, putting six dangerous pucks on Thomas in hopes of scoring a second OT win and burying the hard-luck Bruins, most likely for good.
But Schaefer kept his cool in the moments following the Smolinski slash, dishing the puck to Dennis Wideman. The defenseman, in turn, made a heads-up pass to Savard, who buried the winning shot without hesitation, giving the Bruins a 2-1 overtime victory.
"I just hustled to the bench as quick as I could, thinking, 'We've got to get one on this power play,' " Thomas recalled. "By the time I got to the bench and watched, I saw the composure that Schaefer had, which turned into the composure that Wideman had, which turned into Savard's goal."
With the victory before 17,565 at TD Banknorth Garden, which was awash with Canadiens fans, the Bruins clawed back into the series, which they trail two games to one.
"To come out and get it today in that manner, never giving up," Thomas said, "shows the same character of this team that we've been showing all year long."
Instead of panic, what Schaefer and his five teammates on the ice - Thomas had sprinted to the bench and was replaced by Savard - mastered was a sense of calm despite the stomach-churning moment.
Schaefer could have let up, allowed a whistle to blow, and set the Boston power play loose on Price. Instead, he held onto the puck after the Smolinski slash and carried it into the corner.
"When there's a penalty coming, you can be a little more patient," Schaefer said. "In overtime, you don't want to turn over the puck. But if there's a penalty coming, you can try and make a play you normally wouldn't make."
