B’s get points across
Top Habs to extend streak
The wheels on the Bruins’ bandwagon may have been getting a bit wobbly in recent games, but they looked pretty well aligned last night in their 4-1 victory over a Montreal Canadiens’ club fading fast from the playoff picture.
After going 1-0-2 in their previous three games that all went to extra time, the B’s had control of last night’s contest after wiping out the Habs’ bad bounce goal on the first shift. The B’s stretched their points streak to 14 games (10-0-4) and opened a four-point lead over the third-place Maple Leafs with three games in hand.
“It was way better,” said Torey Krug of the team’s overall game. “We had times where we were not great great, not crisp, but we overcame those times pretty quickly and that’s what is a strength of our team and it is going forward. But it was definitely a better feeling for a full 60 minutes. It felt like we were in control the whole time and didn’t give them any energy to propel them.”
Tuukka Rask made 21 saves — the only “shot” to beat him was a deflection off Zdeno Chara’s stick 31 seconds into the game — while the B’s got goals from David Pastrnak (No. 18), Ryan Spooner (6), Brad Marchand (19, power play) and David Krejci (8, emptynetter).
While former coach Claude Julien received a well-deserved ovation during a video tribute, it could not have been a pleasant night as his old squad showed it is a team on the rise while his new team is staring at what could possibly be a major rebuilding job.
The confidence level the Bruins are feeling right now was visible with the way they responded to the badbreak goal, credited to Jakub Jerabek, on the first shift of the game. There were times in this rivalry — as recent as early last season, in fact — when that kind of goal from the Habs would have been an uh-oh moment for the B’s. Not so last night.
“That’s how confident we are in our game right now,” said Krug, “and confident that Tuukka (Rask) is going to shut the door from there on out and we’re going to go out and score our goals. It’s a matter of time if we’re playing the right way that we’ll get rewarded.”
They didn’t have to wait too long for that reward to come as they tied it at 6:50 on a pretty play from the top line. Pastrnak, who was close to being offsides on the zone entry but was able to drag his back skate, made a great play behind the net. From the seat of his pants, he poked the puck away from Jeff Petry and got it to Marchand, who in turn moved it to Patrice Bergeron in the slot. Bergeron made a nifty pass to Pastrnak, who had jumped up and gotten himself into shooting position on the right side of the net. Goalie Carey Price had no time to get over to stop Pastrnak’s shot.
The B’s dominated the rest of the first period but could not forge ahead until 2:37 of the second. Jake DeBrusk transitioned the puck up ice after a Montreal turnover in the offensive zone and pushed it to David Krejci on the right wing. Krejci gained the offensive blue line before handing off to Ryan Spooner. Spooner, who butted heads a few times with Julien during the coach’s time in Boston, weaved his way down to the right side and sent a soft backhander into the crease that went in off of Jonathan Drouin’s right skate.
With a little more of that kind of puck luck — they hit three bars on Grade A scoring chances in tight — the B’s might have blown the game open. But midway through the second, they found themselves in a bit of peril when Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo incurred consecutive penalties, giving the Habs a 5-on-3 for 1:09. But thanks to terrific penalty killing from Chara, who was on for 2:25 of the 2:51 shorthanded time, and Adam McQuaid, in his first game back after missing 35 with a broken fibula, the B’s made the moment theirs.
“You can’t say enough about those plays, those turning points in a game,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “I thought we had been the better team, but they found a way to stay in the game on the road and that was their opportunity to take control of the game and we did a good job. A real good job.”
Marchand finally gave the B’s some breathing space when he scored a powerplay tally at 3:40. Julien pulled Price with the extra skater with 3:31 left, but just 19 seconds later Krejci sealed it with the freebie.