First period
- The game begins with Josh Anderson and Tanner Jeannot squaring up at centre ice. We have our tone for this game. Precisely the one the Bruins wanted.
- Phillip Danault continues the shift with Brendan Gallagher in Anderson’s place and they help draw a holding call when Alexandre Texier is grabbed behind the net.
- Lane Hutson attempts a pass across the top of the zone, and it leads to a two-on-one from the two Bruins forwards you don’t want to allow one to. Jacob Fowler makes a great save on David Pastrnak on a feed from Morgan Geekie.
- What was shaping up as a two-on-one for Zachary Bolduc and Cole Caufield turned into not much at all as Bolduc’s pass was a little behind where Caufield wanted it and he had to settle for a weak wrist shot.
- Nikita Zadorov and Arber Xhekaj drop their glove and head for the centre-ice dot. Xhekaj got the better blows in even if Zadorov did go for the wrestling takedown to end it.
- Juraj Slafkovský steps into the path of Jeannot off an offensive-zone faceoff win, and the Bruins will get their first power play.
- Mike Matheson has a great opening half of the kill going one-on-one with Pastrnak.
- Danault is on the second wave of the PK. He didn’t do that much at all in Los Angeles this season.
- With the kill done, Sammy Blais does his best Caufield impression with a shot from behind the goal line that banks in off the back of Jeremy Swayman’s mask and in.
Sammy Blais gets the bank shot off the helmet of Swayman to open the scoring for the #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 23, 2025 at 8:34 PM
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- You may have witnessed this before, but a stretch of good work by Montreal to generate a goal is immediately spoiled by poor defensive play. This time Matheson throws the puck to the slot right to a Bruins player, and neither he nor Noah Dobson can recover to take the players in front of the net, allowing Marat Khusnutdinov to tie the game.
- The Bruins are back on the power play with Gallagher off for slashing.
- Geekie hits the crossbar as he accepts a pass in the slot.
- Boston gets away with knocking Oliver Kapanen’s stick out of his hands so he has to defend without one, but not for chopping Matheson’s in half trying to get a three-man advantage. The Canadiens will get their shot on the power play.
- The Bruins aren’t allowing any passes through the slot, and Montreal isn’t sure how to deal with that.
- Now Boston is back on the power play as Demidov hooks his man after losing the puck right as Viktor Arvidsson had stepped out of the box.
- Fowler makes another good save on Pastrnak at the side of the net. Dobson just recovered in time to get a bit of Pastrnak’s stick on the shot.
- Montreal doesn’t survive the kill. Alex Steeves goes high over Fowler’s shoulder and the period will end 2-1 for Boston.
- It’s a lead the Bruins deserve after posting 17 shots in the opening period. The Canadiens can’t play another period like that one if they want to stay in this game.
Second period
- Texier gets crunched along the boards by Fraser Minten and is very slow getting up and to the bench. Montreal doesn’t need another injured forward.
- Zadorov attempts a touch pass in the neutral zone, and it sits in open ice. Demidov pounces on it, takes it in for a breakaway, and deposits it after well-sold fake to the backhand behind Swayman to tie the game.
Bad turnover by Zadorov, and Ivan Demidov takes it before undressing Swayman to tie the game.
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 23, 2025 at 9:15 PM
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- Meanwhile, Texier has gone to the dressing room.
- The puck slides through the feet of Matheson in the neutral zone and Arvidsson gets a semi-break out of it. He fakes a slapshot to get in deeper, but Fowler makes the stop.
- Carrier tosses the puck toward the net and it makes it through, clanking off the base of the post.
- Outside of that misplay from Matheson, it’s been all Montreal in the opening four minutes.
- So of course Boston is now on the power play. Anderson has gone off for slashing.
- Pastrnak flips his stick up and catches Fowler in the chin. I guess it’s not high-sticking if it hits a goalie. Is this a new rule just for this game?
- The Habs are playing more like their puck-moving selves now instead of a hard-hitting team and the bruins have been forced to do a lot of chasing this period.
- Hutson is put in a headlock in the offensive zone, and the refs just allow that to continue. They can’t look the other way on Steeves’s high stick that draws blood from Dobson, so it will be a four-minute power play for Montreal.
- Let’s see how the Canadiens adjust to the slot being locked down.
- The answer? Still looking for that perfect cross-ice pass.
- This is a real waste of the opportunity to take the lead. At least attempts some shots.
- Slafkovský finally sets one up for Caufield, who is denied by Swayman.
- Just too many attempts to pass the puck through lanes with sticks already in them, and the Bruins will have gained a little momentum off that kill when they had none beforehand.
- The Bruins put the puck in the net, but Pastrnak had to skate through the crease and knock Slafkovský into Fowler to do it. The ref says that’s not the proper way to score a goal.
- That was a very good second period as the Canadiens stopped trying to play like the Bruins and get back to what works for them. Shots were 12-5 Montreal, and that’s despite four minutes of power-play time when they had hardly any at all.
Third period
- Texier won’t return tonight. RDS showed a replay of him on he bench, and it seemed he was dealing with a neck issue.
- Suzuki and Caufield get a two-on-one and don’t get a shot out of it as Caufield’s pass misses by several feet. I’m not sure what’s going on with those two. Maybe they’re just fatigued from this relentless schedule.
- Well that’s not something we’ve seen often this season. It’s a Bruins defenceman who has his stick snap at the worst moment, allowing the Canadiens into the zone uncontested. Hutson sets up Suzuki who gets stopped by Swayman aggressively coming out of his crease. Bolduc follows up with the goalie down and out to make it 3-2.
Bruins are challenging for goalie interference, but Bolduc has a goal for now 3-2 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 23, 2025 at 10:22 PM
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- Boston challenges, but the contact was made outside the crease and this one should stand.
- It does. Montreal has the lead and a power play to, ideally, make it bigger.
- Boston gets two great chances early into the power play. Fowler makes a couple of key stops.
- The Bruins are very ornery on the kill. First McAvoy takes Suzuki hard into the boards when he didn’t have the puck, Then Jeannot cross-checks Bolduc as the puck comes out of the zone. The refs call the second one.
- St-Louis has used his timeout to draw up a five-on-three play. Montreal really needs to score here.
- Dobson’s stick explodes on a shot attempt (we have seen that a lot), but Caufield saves the situation with a series of dekes to open Swayman’s five-hole and tuck it in to make it a more comfortable 4-2.
That's just some beautiful stick handling and a five-hole tuck for Cole Caufield. 4-2 #Habs
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 23, 2025 at 10:29 PM
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- The Bruins just haven’t had any answer for Montreal in the last 30 minutes or so. Hampus Lindholm trips Oliver Kapanen, and it’s another extended five-on-three.
- Dobson doesn’t break his stick on this attempt. The puck pops up in the air, and Suzuki calmly lets it fall below the level of the goal line to bat it in for a 5-2 lead.
Nick Suzuki bats one in out of mid air. 5-2 #Habs they take advantage of the penalty festival.
— Matt Drake (@drakemt.bsky.social) December 23, 2025 at 10:32 PM
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- Montreal now has the edge in shots. I really didn’t think that would happen after how the first was played.
- Now to get out of this game with no more injuries.
- But why not add another goal as well? Slafkovský slaps his stick for a return pass from Hutson, and pounds it in.
- Three assists for Hutson tonight, also three for Dobson, and six different forwards have goals.
- Things get heated as Slafkovský takes down his man with a minute to play. To be fair, he really didn’t need to do that at this stage of the game.
- Montreal completed the comeback for a 6-2 lead, and can feel good heading into the break. Let’s hope everyone takes about a 72-hour soak in the tub to gear up for the upcoming road trip.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) It’s probably not a win without him
2) They did a great job getting back to their game
1) Good that he missed out on this era
