Montador could've used a suit of armor in Game 3.

MONTREAL — Contrary to what you might have thought, Boston Bruins defenseman Steve Montador wasn’t in any extra pain immediately after he blocked nine shots in the club’s Game 3 victory over Montreal in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals last night.

Nor was he more sore when he woke up this morning.

“It feels a lot like other days — just prepping for the next game,” said Montador, one of the unsung heroes of the Bruins’ Game 3 win, after the team practiced at Bell Centre in preparation for tomorrow night’s Game 4 and a possible sweep of the series.

“The regular icing and all that kind of stuff is just part of the deal.”

Montador blocked five shots in the first period alone last night, as the Bruins had to withstand the fired-up Habs’ best effort in front of their home crowd for the first time in the series. He admitted that after that game he thought he had blocked a few more than usual, but he wasn’t sure how many. Montador, who averaged a little less than a block per game in the regular season (60 in 78 games), registered just one block in the first two games of the series. But part of that can be attributed to a lack of playing time and the lack of jump in Montreal’s offensive game.

Playing second-pair minutes (more than 20) alongside Dennis Wideman in the absence of the recuperating Matt Huwnick, Montador had to step up his game. He’s admittedly settling in with the team he didn’t join until March 4 as the season moves along. And playing alongside an emerging star helps too.

“(Wideman’s) a smart player. He makes good plays with the puck. He stays in good position on the ice and I can read off him quite well and hopefully he can read off me,” said Montador. “He makes the game look easy at times. And he’s a skill player, as we know.”

Skating with Wideman has meant a shift from his natural right side to the left for Montador. But just like moving up front to skate at forward when needed, Montador continues to prove his versatility when he makes such moves.

“I’ve done it before. I think dealing with adjustments, in and of itself, I’ve played up front and back and whatnot. (I have a) ‘no two days are exactly the same’ type of mentality and I feel comfortable with challenges like that because I’ve had experience with them,” he explained.

One of the current Bruins who enjoyed Calgary’s run to the 2004 Stanley Cup final, Montador said he can’t really compare one team to another as the Bruins are on the precipice of winning this series and possibly making a lengthy run in the ’09 postseason. But he pointed to one attribute that’s probably a common theme among all successful teams.

“I think a focus of ours has always been to concentrate on what we can control in our game and I think that’s the biggest probably comparison,” he said.

He’s managed to keep his focus on his game and it’s resulted in aiding the Bruins’ cause. That’s probably why those pucks don’t hurt as much.