(Sports Network) - The first Game 7 of the 2008 playoffs will take place tonight in Montreal, as the top-seeded Canadiens host the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre for the deciding game of this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

The Canadiens are trying to avoid blowing a three games to one lead in a playoff series for the first time in the franchise's storied history. Montreal is 26-0 all-time in series when holding a 3-1 advantage, but has so far failed twice to close out this set against Boston.

The eighth-seeded Bruins, meanwhile, are 0-20 in series when trailing three games to one and this is the first time the club has ever forced a Game 7 when down 3-1.

Boston trailed, 2-1, after two periods in Game 6, but outscored the Habs, 4-2, in the final 20 minutes to notch a 5-4 victory at TD Banknorth Garden.

Phil Kessel had two goals in the comeback as the Bruins again used a big third period to help them stay alive in this series. In Game 5 on Thursday, Boston scored four goals in the third to win 5-1, and stave off elimination.

After playing in Game 1, Kessel was a healthy scratch in three straight games, but has rebounded to score three goals in Games 5 and 6.

Marco Sturm, Milan Lucic, and Vladimir Sobotka all tallied for the Bruins, while Tim Thomas stopped 31-of-35 shots in the win.

Christopher Higgins finished with two goals for top-seeded Montreal, which won all eight regular-season meetings with Boston.

Tomas Plekanec and Francis Bouillon also scored, while captain Saku Koivu -- who had missed the Canadiens' past nine games -- recorded two assists.

Carey Price made 31 saves in defeat and the 20-year-old rookie is now 3-3 with a 2.43 goals against average and .914 save percentage in the series. Price has surrendered four goals in each of the last two third-periods against Boston.

The Canadiens lost Game 6 despite having Koivu, the team captain, on the ice for the first time in the playoffs. Koivu, who recorded two assists in just over 15 minutes of ice time, had been out since fracturing a bone in his left foot on March 28.

Montreal holds a sizeable advantage in terms of all-time playoff meetings with Boston. The Canadiens have taken 23 of the 30 postseason series between these old rivals and has also won the last two, beating the Bruins in the conference quarters in 2002 and 2004.

The Habs were 22-13-6 at the Bell Centre during the regular season, while Boston had a 20-13-8 record as the visiting club.