Montreal Powered by Audette

Donald Audette and Saku Koivu are back. So are the Montreal Canadiens.

Audette had three goals and Koivu assisted on two of them as they emerged from a season spent mostly on the sidelines to help beat the top-seeded and host Boston Bruins, 5-2, Thursday night in Montreal’s first playoff game in four years.

“The team was playing well without us,” Koivu said. “We were playing playoff hockey over the last 15 games.”

Koivu played only the last three games of the regular season after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in September and undergoing treatment.

“He was a huge inspiration for us tonight and this was big for his confidence,” Montreal Coach Michel Therrien said.

Audette played in only 33 games during the regular season, missing 49 after lacerating his left forearm. He returned March 30 and scored only five goals all season.

“This year has been terrible for me,” said Audette, obtained from Dallas on Nov. 21. “I always dreamed of playing in Montreal and I’m happy to turn the page and be a Canadien.”

He also became part of a rivalry that has faded since the teams’ last postseason meeting in 1994. Still, the 29 playoff matchups between the teams represent an NHL record.

Boston finished first in the Eastern Conference but won only one of its last six games. Montreal clinched a playoff berth by going 7-1 in its last eight games. Now the Bruins, who are home again Sunday, have lost the home-ice advantage in the best-of-seven Eastern quarterfinal.

Audette tied the score at 1-1 when his shot went in off defenseman Nick Boynton’s stick. The score was tied at 2-2 after two periods before Audette scored in the third at 2:18 and again at 10:00.

Chicago 2, St. Louis 1--Alexander Karpovtsev scored with 3:10 to go as the Blackhawks won the opening game of their first round Western Conference playoff series at St. Louis.

The defenseman had only one goal in the regular season, Oct. 11 against the Coyotes, and sat out the last seven games after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery April 3.

Kyle Calder, who hadn’t scored in 23 games, also scored for the Blackhawks.

Pavol Demitra scored in the second period for the Blues.

Jocelyn Thibault, a game-day decision in goal for the Blackhawks over Steve Passmore, had a strong game, making 34 saves.

Toronto 3, New York Islanders 1--Tie Domi scored the go-ahead goal in the third period as the Maple Leafs rallied to beat the Islanders in Game 1 of their first-round series at Toronto.

Domi, playing on Toronto’s top line with Mats Sundin and Mikael Renberg, scored only his fourth career playoff goal.

The Toronto enforcer played his first playoff game since being suspended for elbowing New Jersey’s Scott Niedermayer in the head in last year’s playoffs.

Darcy Tucker scored the tying goal, and Sundin added an empty-netter for the Maple Leafs, who outshot New York, 31-14.