I rather enjoyed that ceremony celebrating the 1988 Bruins that showed highlights of all of Montreal’s triumphs in previous years.
While I was waiting for the Bruins ceremony to end, I watched the Canucks score after about 90 seconds of offensive zone pressure on the Maple Leafs, so there have been some good appetizers for this Habs-Bruins game.
And one last goal against the Leafs before the drop of the puck at TD Garden.
First period
- Josh Anderson’s speed has already led to an offensive-zone faceoff as the Bruins were forced into a clear into their bench. If only he would treat every shift like the first one of a period.
- The Habs’ top pairing has brought a physical approach to a night of defended David Pastrnak. Two hard hits into the boards, first from Mike Matheson and then David Savard.
- Matheson got a penalty for something. Garry Galley was talking over the call. It appears to be interference on the replay.
- A smart play by Rafaël Harvey-Pinard to send the puck down the ice into the corner where Linus Ullmark couldn’t just come out and play it.
- Good structure on the penalty kill allows the Canadiens to survive. You don’t want to have to do that many more times tonight.
- “Mike Matheson is not a guy who makes a lot of mistakes,” says Galley, confirming the Canadiens aren’t the team he’s paying attention to on these broadcasts.
- Sean Monahan’s line continues its run of good offensive play. It doesn’t score on a three-way passing play, but does draw a penalty.
- Leafs down 3-0.
- Matheson races Marchand to keep the puck in the zone, and the power play ends in a goal for Cole Caufield at the right side of the net. That’s a five-game goal-scoring streak, and 16 tallies on the season.
- It seems Matheson needs a high degree of difficulty to hold a puck in at the blue line on a power play.
- The Suzuki line is doing well to get some chances of its own and not just playing defence against Boston’s best forwards.
- The Bruins tie it up on a give-and-go started by defenceman Brandon Carlo. Justin Barron was unable to deny the entry, and Jordan Harris was unable to tie up his stick.
- That second Habs line makes its mark. They pull off a nice passing play as well as Joshua Roy gets around a defender, and doesn’t just sling it to the net, but finds the stick of Joel Armia. A great goal, and a needed but of creativity from a secondary unit.
- Samuel Montembeault gets hit with a shot square in his mask, and needs a minute to recover. The play is blown dead as both of his mask straps came undone, and he’s probably thankful for the break.
- Another nice pass from Monahan to Armia nearly results in the 3-1 goal. The Bruins will need to adjust their gameplan the way that line is paying so far.
- Jake DeBrusk banks a puck off Montembeault and in from the goal line.
- Now a perfect pass from Matt Grzelcyk finds the stick of Danton Heinen at the side of the net, and the forward deflects it in through his feet. Savard was the one guilty of not tying up a stick that time.
- Suzuki just about ties it up in the dying second, but he fans on his first shot and hits the side of the net with the second.
- The Bruins probably deserve a one-goal lead after that period, so there isn’t much you can be upset about with a 3-2 score. The defence need to pay a bit more attention to its net-front details, however.
Second period
- Montreal’s defence is a bit more conservative to start the second. Not giving up as many rushes and net-front looks.
- The Monahan line draws another penalty five minutes in.
- With all the Bruins closely watching the new down-low setup the Canadiens are using, Mike Matheson can move up to the top of the circles, and he ties the game with a slapshot.
- Only 10 shots for Montrea, but as has been the case recently, they rarely bother to take bad ones.
- A wrestling match behind the net ends in a fight between Anderson and Trent Frederic.
- Boston gets a power play even though Anderson was the one held behind the net. He got called for roughing for trying to free himself.
- Roy just picks the puck up at his goal line and calmly skates out flanked by two Bruins.
- One of the two-on-ones the Canadiens were doing well to avoid costs them as Struble’s pinch allows the Bruins to attack with numbers.
- The game now has its first two-goal lead as David Pastrnak sends a pass to a spot on Charlie Coyle can get to, and a one-handed swing knocks it in. Suzuki was unable to keep up with Coyle.
- Boston if making Montreal pay for every defensive error tonight.
- Brendan Gallagher makes it a one-goal game with his own bank shot from behind the goal line.
- It was actually Hampus Lindholm who put the puck in the rebound, so that was nice of him.
- No better way to honour the team of the 80s than with a nine-goal game through 34 minutes.
- Suzuki gets slashed on a zone entry, so the Canadiens will end the period on the power play.
- Slafkovsky fans on a pass from Matheson, and he’s never going to see another one of those again.
- After 40 minutes, it’s still a one-goal game.
Third period
- Another mistake, another Bruins goal. Gallagher’s pass to the point missed Struble, and it’s David Pastrnak who pounces.
- Juraj Slafkovský gives the puck away, and that’s another Bruins goal.
- Meanwhile, the Laval rocket have won to move into fourth in the division. They’ve been on a roll lately.
- 8-4 Boston. The Habs are too tired to fight back now. Some of these guys are going to sleep for 12 hours tonight.
- Samuel Montembeault gets pulled for the first time this season. It’s is a mercy pull with the game out of reach.
- With Suzuki n the box, Heinen completes the hat trick on the power play. A lot of Bruins fans will be heading home with frozen ears.
- At least the Leafs lost.
- Montembeault looks very upset on the bench, he probably feels this is on him, but it was just a rough night all around.
- Careful with the “we want 10” chant, Bruins fans or prime Guy Lafleur may step onto the ice and make this a game again.
EOTP 3 Stars
3) That trade value just keeps going up
2) One of the best parts of the rivalry
1) Just imagining what a 50-year-old Auston Matthews looks like
