HOCKEY STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS : Bruins Beat Canadiens, 6-3, Near Sweep

It hasn’t happened in 61 years, but the Boston Bruins are on the verge of sweeping the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL playoffs.

The Bruins, with two goals from John Carter, beat the Canadiens, 6-3, Monday night at Montreal to take a 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven Adams Division championship series.

The Bruins’ only other sweep of the Canadiens was in a best-of-five series in 1929, their teams’ initial playoff meeting. The Bruins can advance to the Wales Conference final with a victory at Montreal Wednesday night.

“We weren’t that sure about (winning) it before tonight, but we are now,” Carter said.

Only two teams in NHL playoff history, the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942 and the New York Islanders in 1975, have rebounded from 3-0 deficits to win.

“It’s been done in the past, not often, but what better place to start than with the 20 guys in this room,” Montreal center Brian Skrudland said. “We’ve just got to go out and win the next game and take it from there.”

Carter broke a 2-2 tie at 5:30 of the second period when he beat Patrick Roy with a high wrist shot from the lower right circle for his second goal of the game and third of the playoffs.

Brian Propp made it 4-2 at 6:58, beating Roy from in front for his third goal of the playoffs. Roy, the NHL’s top regular-season goaltender, was lifted in favor of Brian Hayward.

Washington 7, New York Rangers 1--John Druce scored eight goals for the Capitals in 45 regular-season games, but he continued his offensive binge in the playoffs, scoring two goals during a four-goal first period at Landover, Md., as the Capitals took a 2-1 lead in the Patrick Division finals.

Druce scored his eighth and ninth goals of the playoffs by twice stuffing in his own rebound. He also assisted on Geoff Courtnall’s goals in the first and third periods.

The Capitals, who took a team playoff-record 49 shots, had their victory tempered somewhat by the loss of goalie Don Beaupre, who left the game after suffering a groin pull at 3:16 of the first period. His status for the rest of the series was not known.