MONTREAL, April 24 (UPI) -- Tom Kostopoulos scored 48 seconds into overtime Thursday, allowing Montreal to take a 4-3 win over Philadelphia in the opener of their playoff series.
Montreal rallied from an early 2-0 deficit, fell behind again, and then forced overtime when Alexei Kovalev scored a power-play goal with only 29 seconds to play in regulation.
The Canadiens, seeded No. 1 in the Eastern Conference, will be at home for Game 2 of the semifinal series Saturday.
Riding the momentum of their seven-game triumph over Washington in the quarterfinals, Philadelphia jumped in front on first-period goals by R.J. Umberger and Jim Dowd.
Montreal came back in the second period with Andrei Kostitsyn and Kovalev producing the scores. Kovalev's goal came shorthanded.
Joffrey Lupul tallied a mere 19 seconds into the third period to put the Flyers back in front and Philadelphia held onto its lead until Kovalev got one past Martin Biron while Mike Richards was in the penalty box for kneeing.
Carey Price made 30 saves for Montreal.
The game-winning goal came after Andrei Markov kept in a clearing attempt at the left point. Markov's shot was blocked, but Kostopoulos grabbed the rebound and snapped a shot past Biron.
