Canadiens' Carey Price looks back at a Mike Richards' shot that eluded him on Monday night. John Kenney, The Gazette
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The Philadelphia Flyers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal on Monday night and forced Canadiens rookie Carey Price from the net and held off a third-period charge by the Canadiens to grab a 2-1 lead in the series with a 3-2 win at the Wachovia Centre.
It's the first time the Canadiens have trailed a series during the 2008 postseason.
After goals by Scottie Upshall, Mike Richards and R.J. Umberger in the second period, Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau replaced Price with Jaroslav Halak for the third period. Price allowed three goals on 12 shots.
The Canadiens power play, which the Flyers shut down in the first 40 minutes, came to life in the third period as Montreal was able to score twice during a five-minute power play after Flyers defenceman Derian Hatcher took a major penalty for boarding Canadiens defenceman Francis Bouillon behind the Philadelphia net.
Tomas Plekanec scored the first goal as he pushed a loose puck behind Biron at 7:29 into the third period. Captain Saku Koivu netted Montreal's second goal 1:12 later when he grabbed a rebound and went around Biron and slipped the puck into an empty net.
But Biron was the big story of the game again, just like in Game 2, as he made 32 saves as the Canadiens dominated the shot clock 34-14, with the Flyers shooting only twice on Halak in the third period.
After a scorless first period, the Flyers exploded for three goals in the second period. Philadelphia has scored first in all three games of the series.
The Flyers a 1-0 lead when Upshall beat Price with a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle. Price couldn't see the shot as defenceman Roman Hamrlik was blocking Price's line of sight.
But Price made a huge mistake on the Flyers' second goal, scored shorthanded. Richards took a harmless looking shot from just inside the blue line that Price whiffed at with his glove for a 2-0 lead 15:12 into the second period.
Umberger scored his third goal in the last two games when he beat Price with 1:41 to play in the second period. As was the case on Saturday night, Umberger beat Price high in his glove side to give the Flyers a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes.
Koivu, coming out of the penalty box in the first period, had the best chance for the Canadiens when he was sent in alone on Biron, but the goaltender poke-checked the Canadiens captain.
Christopher Higgins missed a golden chance with the Canadiens enjoying a 5-on-3 power play when Alex Kovalev fed the puck across the crease, but Higgins missed a bouncing puck with a wide open net in front of him.