TOTAL BUST IN BOSTON
Canadiens shut out 4-0
Tuukka Rask got a monkey off his back Sunday as he made 25 saves to lead the Boston Bruins to a 4-0 win over the Canadiens. It was Rask’s first regular-season win over the Canadiens at TD Garden after going 0-9-3 in his first dozen games. His career record against Montreal improved to 7-15-3 with two shutouts.
Slip, sliding away: The Canadiens continue to lead the Atlantic Division but there is no reason to believe they are going to make the playoffs based on their recent performances. The Canadiens have one win in their last seven games (1-5-2) and have scored only 10 goals in that span and they have been shut out three times in their last five games. Montreal is six points ahead of second-place Ottawa but the Senators have five games in hand. The Bruins are now six points back but have played the same number of games. And Toronto is nine points back but have played four fewer games.
Bruins strike first: Boston took a 1-0 lead when Adam McQuaid scored from the left side after taking a cross-ice pass from Peter Cehlarik at 8:57 of the first period. When Carey Price is at the top of his game, he slides across the crease
to stop this shot but the puck was in the net before he got into position. Something special for the Bruins:
The special teams allowed Boston to take a 3-0 lead. Zdeno Chara displayed some nifty stick-handling as he scored a shorthanded goal 5:08. It was his fifth goal of the season. David Krejci added a power-play goal at 15:05. Give David Backes full credit for spotting Krjeci on the far side of the crease. Frank Vatrano added an insurance goal in the third period. Where’s the power? The Canadiens, who went into the game with the fourth-best powerplay record in the NHL with a success rate of 22.2 per cent, had three power plays in the first period including a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:37. They managed three shots on goal but failed to score against the No. 2-ranked penalty-killing unit. The Canadiens finished the night 0-for6 with the extra man.
Shaw avenges hit: The game was only 58 seconds old when Andrew Shaw invited Torey Krug to drop his gloves. Shaw, who had the better of the action, was looking for payback for a blow to the head Krug delivered in the Dec. 12 game between these teams at the Bell Centre. Shaw suffered a concussion, which sidelined him for 14 games.
Healthy at least: The Canadiens are back at full strength with the return of forward Brendan Gallagher, who had missed 19 games with a broken hand. Gallagher, who
was playing his 300th NHL game, was on a line with Shaw and Alex Galchenyuk.
Time for a break: The Canadiens will shut it down for four days and return to practice at 4 p.m. Friday. Their next game is Saturday when the Winnipeg Jets visit the Bell Centre for an afternoon game (2 p.m., CBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports, TSN Radio 690) as part of the annual Hockey Day in Canada programming.