(My Sportsbook) - The top-seeded Montreal Canadiens earned a dramatic victory in the opener of the Eastern Conference semifinals and will try to extend their lead to 2-0 when they host the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 tonight at the Bell Centre.

The Canadiens, champions of the Northeast Division, notched a 4-3 overtime triumph in Game 1, as Tom Kostopoulos scored just 48 seconds into the extra session to give the Habs a 1-0 series' edge.

Montreal, which had rallied from deficits twice in the game and tied it with 28.6 seconds left in regulation on Alex Kovalev's power play tally, got the winner quickly in OT. Andrei Markov kept in a clearing attempt at the left point and fired a shot on net that Martin Biron stopped. Kostopoulos grabbed the rebound and snapped a shot on net that Biron stopped, but the rebound came right back to Kostopoulos and he slammed it into the net to win the game.

Kovalev scored twice and Andrei Kostitsyn also lit the lamp for the Canadiens, while rookie Carey Price made 30 saves in the win.

Jim Dowd, Joffrey Lupul and R.J. Umberger each had a goal for the Flyers, and Biron stopped 30 shots in the loss.

Both the Flyers and Canadiens were coming off seven-game series, as Montreal defeated Boston in a Game 7 on Monday night and Philly notched an OT victory in the decisive test in Washington on Tuesday.

Montreal is now in the second round for the first time since 2004, when it lost to Tampa Bay in the conference semifinals. The Flyers also were last in the second round that season as they made it to the East finals before losing to the Lightning.

The opening game between the Habs and the Flyers was not without its share of controversies. Montreal tied the game at 2-2 with 3:57 left in the second period on Kovalev's first goal of the contest. It appeared that Kovalev hit the puck in with a high stick, but after a lengthy review the on-ice call stood and the game was tied.

Then, with 1:09 left in regulation Flyers forward Mike Richards was whistled for a kneeing call that led to Kovalev's game-tying goal with 28.6 seconds left. Replays also showed that Richards did not knee Kovalev on the play, but rather hit the Russian sniper on the hip with his shoulder.

The Canadiens were a perfect 4-0 against Philadelphia during the regular season and outscored the Flyers by a 15-6 margin over that span. Overall, the Habs have taken 10 of last 12 meetings against Philly and clearly have had the Flyers' number in recent seasons. However, Montreal was 8-0 against the Bruins this year and wound up going the distance with Boston in the first round.

Montreal is 3-1 all-time in playoff series against the Flyers, including a win in the 1976 Stanley Cup finals. The last postseason encounter between the teams came in 1989, when the Habs defeated Philly in the Wales Conference finals.

The Canadiens were 22-13-6 as the host team this season, while Philadelphia was 21-15-5 on the road.

Game 3 of this series is scheduled for Monday evening at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center.