BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Canadiens 2 - B’s hold off Habs rally, Rask impresses again taken at Bell Centre (Bruins)

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Bruins

BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Canadiens 2 - B’s hold off Habs rally, Rask impresses again

By Conor Ryan

Nov 24, 2018 • 11:09 pm

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MONTREAL —  Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens  in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Tuukka Rask stands tall in net: The B’s had the luxury of sitting back a bit after a two-goal cushion at the end of the first period, but the Canadiens were far from dormant as they attempted to claw themselves out of an early deficit. And while Boston closed out the night with two points in its back pocket, it was Montreal that generated the most quality looks in front of the crease, with the Habs holding the edge in both scoring chances (27-21) and high-danger scoring chances (10-8) through the end of regulation. The equalizer for the Black and Gold? Another fantastic outing in net from Rask, who turned aside 31 of the 33 shots that came his way in the win. Once dogged for his struggles against Montreal, Rask is now 8-2-1 with a 1.69 goals-against average in his last 10 matchups against Boston’s top rival. With both Rask and Jaroslav Halak operating at a high level, it’s no surprise that a shorthanded Bruins club has now captured at least a point in five straight games.

B’s holding the recent edge in rivalry with Habs: It’s always a primetime event whenever the B’s and Habs face off, but the last few years haven’t been particularly kind to Montreal, especially within the friendly confines of the Bell Centre. With Saturday’s victory, the Bruins have now won their last four regular-season matchups on the Habs’ home ice — marking the first time since Jan. 11-Dec. 20, 1941 that the franchise accomplished that feat.

FOUR UP

Jake DeBrusk: Another day, another goal for Boston’s red-hot winger. With his tip-in off a fantastic feed from Torey Krug in the opening stanza, DeBrusk is now up to seven goals and nine points in his last 10 games. DeBrusk’s hot streak has also benefited his center, David Krejci, with the pivot now up to 10 points (all assists) in his last 10 games. With two assists on Saturday, Krejci passed Peter McNab to sit alone in 11th place in Bruins’ franchise history with 589 career points. He now sits just one point away from tying Cam Neely for 10th place.




David Backes:
After getting a goal disallowed on Friday, Backes finally broke through with his first goal of the 2018-19 campaign in the first period of Saturday’s matchup — with his first regular-season tally since April 8 coming off of an impressive individual effort. The sequence, which featured Backes pickpocketing 18-year-old
Jasperi Kotkaniemi
by the blue line before wristing one past
Carey Price
, might be just what the winger needs to get on a roll.




Tuukka Rask:
If you eliminate Boston’s Opening Night debacle against Washington, Rask is 5-3-2 with a .924 save percentage this season. Not too shabby.


John Moore:
Moore picked an awfully good time to net his first career goal as a member of the Black and Gold, ripping one past
Carey Price
at 17:03 in the final stanza to close out the win and put an end to Montreal’s rally.


ONE DOWN:


Top line:
The Marchand-JFK-Pastrnak line was out for just two Habs SOG in about eight minutes of 5-v-5 play, but Boston’s big guns in Marchand and Pastrnak failed to tally a point — and have been limited to just three total points in their last four games together.


PLAY OF THE GAME:




PARTING THOUGHT


Kevan Miller
is going to be hurting for a bit after this spear by
Brendan Gallagher
after time expired in the first period.




LOOKING AHEAD:
The Black and Gold will continue their road trip through Canada on Monday, with a matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7 p.m. In their last matchup on Nov. 10, the B’s took down Toronto, 5-1.

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