B’s beat Habs as rivalry finally renewed
Face off for first time in nearly two years
The Bruins may have started slowly on Sunday night at the Garden, but finishing was the biggest issue for them going into the weekend. And for the second day in a row, the B’s finished off their opponent in winning fashion.
This time they were facing the Montreal Canadiens for the first time in nearly two years and they needed to overcome a third-period deficit. But they did so in convincing fashion, scoring three times in the first 9:05 of the period before gliding into a 5-2 win.
It was a good night to be named Charlie, as Mr. Mcavoy and Mr. Coyle each had two goals to pace the B’s to the victory.
Trailing 2-1 early in the third, the Bruins tied it up for the second time in the game, this time on a power-play drawn by David Pastrnak, the third penalty forced by the the B’s top line (Brad Marchand had drawn the other two).
On the advantage, Mcavoy’s high wrist shot deflected off Christian Dvorak out high and beat Sam Montembeault at 2:14. It was Mcavoy’s second goal of the game (2,3) -- the first multigoal game of his NHL career.
The B’s then took their first lead of the game at 5:58 on a very fortunate break. Pastrnak ripped a shot from the right side of the slot that Montembeault stopped. Jeff Petry pounced on the rebound and tried to clear into the corner, but he chipped right off Coyle at the side of the net and the puck dropped behind the netminder for the 3-2 Bruin advantage.
Coyle then gave the B’s a little breathing room 3:07 later, in a more conventional fashion. Jake Debrusk took a hit to chip the puck into the offensive zone, Coyle gathered it in stride and beat Montembeault with a pretty roof shot for his fifth of the year.
Finally, Taylor Hall, on his 30th birthday, was given a nice little present from Pastrnak for the empty net goal on a 2-on-1.
The Bruins had not played the Habs in 641 days and, in that time period, it seemed the B’s
had forgotten something about their ancient rival. It didn’t matter that Montreal came into the game with a 4-10-2 record, games against the Canadiens on Causeway Street are rarely gimmes.
The Canadiens held a 1211 shot advantage despite the B’s having two-plus power plays, which went for naught. And the Habs took the first lead of the game at 8:09 of the first off a quick transition.
Nick Foligno fired a left wing shot that Montembeault stopped with the rebound going to Artturi Lehnkonen in the defensive slot. With Connor Clifton having pinched down on the right side, Lehkonen quickly moved it up to Joel Armia, who broke out on a 3-on-1. With Jakub Zboril the lone defenseman back, Armia decided to take the shot himself and he beat
Jeremy Swayman with a hard, high snap shot over the glove arm.
Eventually, the B’s started getting shot on Montembeault, who was giving up some rebounds but the B’s could not gather in the dangerous areas.
Swayman, getting his second start in as many days, had to make a few quality saves, including a pair on Josh Anderson in tight.
The B’s got a great chance with about 4:30 gone in the second when Patrice Bergeron sent Pastrnak off on a partial breakaway. With Ben Chiarot harassing him from behind, Pastrnak dished it to Marchand but his bid was turned away by a fine Montembeault stop.
But the B’s were tilting the ice in the second, at one point outshooting the Habs 13-3, and they finally tied it t 8:29 of the second off one of those rebounds from Montembeault. Taylor Hall dropped the puck back for Zboril on the breakout and
then Zboril, seeing some time on the top pair with Charlie Mcavoy, made a nifty move through the neutral zone to get it back to Hall. Hall gained the zone and fired a shot from the right wing that produced a big rebound into the slot. It bounced over Foligno’s stick but Mcavoy barreled all the way down the middle of the ice and rapped it home for his second of the year.
The B’s could not escape the second without a deficit, however,with the Habs scoring a grimy fourth line goal. Adam Brooks fired a shot from high on the right side. Michael Pezzetta deflected it and Swayman did well to stop the initial shot, but the rebound went off Connor Clifton and got behind Swayman at 16:25.
They may have held a 20-9 shot advantage in the second, but the B’s began the third period in the same spot they found themselves at the start of the second – down by a goal.