With an opportunity to close-out this hard-fought series and earn some rest before meeting the New York Rangers or Pittsburgh Penguins in the next round, the Boston Bruins simply failed to show up to the Bell Centre in Montreal, landing on the wrong side of a 4-0 shutout against the Canadiens in Game 6.

Lars Eller put the Habs ahead early with a backhand just over two minutes into the tilt for his fourth of the postseason, thanks to a turnover by Kevan Miller. Though the Bruins mustered a handful of scoring chances, and though plenty clanged off the post, none found their way past Montreal goaltender Carey Price, who earned his first shutout of the playoffs.

Rask cannot be expected to keep his team in the contest when his own defenders are sitting on top of him.

Given the Bruins’ unreasonable, season-long dependence on their captain Zdeno Chara, the big man was bound to crack under the pressure sooner or later. Chara was atrocious in the final moments of the second period: first failing to disrupt Max Pacioretty’s breakway for a goal at 15:24, then pinching like a bright-eyed D-man with far fewer years on his resume, allowing Pacioretty to blow past the Bruins’ defense once again, resulting in Thomas Vanek’s first goal of the night at 17:39 on the power play.

Tuukka Rask would have made the save on Vanek’s goal, had his own defenseman Miller not impeded him from shifting laterally through the crease. Rask cannot be expected to keep his team in the contest when his own defenders are sitting on top of him.

With just under four minutes remaining in regulation, Bruins coach Claude Julien pulled Rask for the extra attacker. But before he could reach the Boston bench, Vanek snagged the puck in the neutral zone and potted his second of the night, extinguishing all hope of another miraculous comeback.

The Bruins will host the Canadiens for one last time this season, with the fate of the club’s 90th season at stake, Wednesday at 7 p.m.