from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

Imagine Dustin Tokarski's reaction had someone suggested to him seven days ago that he'd be leading the Montreal Canadiens to an overtime playoff victory at Madison Square Garden in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"I'd think they had a little too much to drink," the humble kid from Humboldt, Saskatchewan, said with a laugh. "But you know, that's what the sport is all about. You never know what can happen and I'm just taking it all in right now."

Channeling his inner-Steve Penney circa 1984, Tokarski inserted his name into NHL playoff lore Thursday night, stopping 35 of 37 shots with Montreal's season, for all intents and purposes, on the line as the Habs prevailed in a thrilling 3-2 OT affair, cutting the New York Rangers' series lead to 2-1.

"Dustin Tokarski was phenomenal tonight," said Habs head coach Michel Therrien. "He's a battler, and most important thing, he's a winner."

With each impressive save Thursday night, Tokarski gave his teammates more and more reason to believe they can still win without injured star goalie Carey Price.

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