Bruins beat up on Habs
Pastrnak retakes scoring lead with hat-trick
David Pastrnak did it again.
Another hat trick, another dominant offensive showing, and retook the NHL’s scoring lead as he potted three goals in a 4-1 Bruins win over the Canadiens on Wednesday night at TD Garden.
BRUINS CANADIENS 4 1
In a rebound from a loss to the Red Wings on Sunday — their first in the seven tries previous — the Bruins took a first period lead and never relented, handing the Habs their second consecutive defeat.
Pastrnak became the first Bruins skater to score 40 goals in a season since Glen Murray did it in 2002-03, and he and Brad Marchand each eclipsed 70 points. Marchand became the 10th player in Bruins history to reach the 70 point plateau in at least four consecutive seasons.
The chippy affair involved a Marchand scrap, plenty of antics between Zdeno Chara and Brendan Gallagher and all sorts of feistiness expected when the Canadiens come to town. The Bruins took advantage with their one power-play goal, and nothing else got too far out of hand in what ended up a start-to-finish solid effort.
The Bruins brought intensity early and it paid off with a goal that should be on the highlight reels for a while.
They didn’t score until 6:59 into the first despite some strong chances on Montreal goalie Carey Price, but the most impressive attempt found the back of the net. Marchand stole the puck at center ice and dangled it through two Canadiens skaters, somehow flipping the puck to an open Pastrnak who easily deposited his 39th tally of the season.
Pastrnak struck again early in the second for his 40th.
With 4:16 gone in the frame, Sean Kuraly found the B’s scorer on a 2-on-1 after Pastrnak stripped Jeff Petry of the puck for a 2-0 lead.
The two-goal advantage was short-lived, though.
Habs defenseman Marco Scandella fired a puck past Tuukka Rask from just inside the blue line 36 seconds later to make it a onegoal contest once more.
Pastrnak netted his third of the game with 4:45 left for his fourth hat trick of the season.
On his 41st goal, Pastrnak pushed the puck past Price on a 4-on-3 that came from Joel Armia hitting Torey Krug up high. It was 4-on-4 with Chris Wagner and Jonathan Drouin shoving each other in the corner until they were sent off, but Armia’s infraction gave the Bruins another man advantage with plenty of ice to work with.
Pastrnak made them pay and reclaimed the NHL lead in goals in the process.
His third goal also made him the first player to score two hat tricks against the Canadiens since 1951-52, when Gordie Howe did it. He also became the first Bruins skater to score four hat tricks in a season since Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito each did it in 1974-75.
Patrice Bergeron sealed it with an empty-net goal with 19 seconds left.
The Bruins next host the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon, looking to defeat the worst team in the NHL for the first time this season.