BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Canadiens 1 — Pastrnak, Backes spur another comeback win

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the Canadiens in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

TWO THINGS TO KNOW

Welcome back, David Backes: Well, you’ve all seen this story play out before. Trailing for most of Sunday’s matchup against the Canadiens, the Bruins once again manufactured a third-period rally to extend their winning streak to seven games, with Boston besting the Habs by way of a 3-1 final.

As expected, the guys you all expect left their imprint on Boston’s latest in a long list of comebacks this year. David Pastrnak gave the Bruins life at 6:16 off of an absolute missile of a shot, while Jake DeBrusk provided the coup de grace at 13:27 to put the game out of reach for a Montreal club that has not posted a regulation win in its last eight games.

But the game-winning tally was scored from an unlikely source, as David Backes — playing in his first matchup since Nov. 2 — made it a 2-1 game off a wrist shot on the power play. 

Boston didn’t know what to expect from Backes in his return to game action, considering he’s less than a month removed from a scary collision with Ottawa’s Scott Sabourin. As such, the veteran forward still logged a team-low 9:04 of ice time in the win. Still, the special-teams tally was a step in the right direction for Backes, who is still looking to carve out a role on this roster. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1201325706430558208

David Pastrnak might be a cheat code: Given that just about every attempt to contain a sniper-like David Pastrnak has unraveled this year for the opposition, the Habs kept things simple on Sunday,



opting to throw their weight around whenever the winger hopped over the boards.

Pastrnak might have taken his licks tonight, but he still found a way to make Montreal pay — giving Boston the spark it needed by uncorking a laser that sailed past Carey Price to put the Bruins on the board. 

Pastrnak is far from the wiry teenager that often got knocked around in his first few years up in the pros, but as more and more teams fail to find a way to slow down the winger, look for a heavy dose of hard hits standing as the primary prescription that the opposition uses in an attempt to negate his offensive contributions. 

https://twitter.com/BradyTrett/status/1201316026945691648

FOUR UP:

Tuukka Rask: After relinquishing a goal on the Habs’ second shot of the night (a deflection off the skate of Charlie McAvoy), Rask locked things down against Montreal, finishing the game with 28 saves — including a breakaway stop against Brendan Gallagher in the early minutes of the third period. 

David Backes: Good for Backes to get on the board after missing such an extended stretch, but the winger actually fared pretty well throughout the night — despite the limited usage. In his 8:26 of 5v5 TOI, Boston held an 11-2 edge in shot attempts with a 3-0 advantage in high-danger scoring chances. 

David Pastrnak: It’s just getting comical at this point. With his 25th goal of the season, Pastrnak is the first player to score that amount through December 1st of an NHL campaign since Mario Lemieux accomplished the feat 27 years ago. With Pastrnak’s strike, a Bruins player is also the first in the NHL to score 25 goals in nearly 45 years, when Phil Esposito reached the mark on Dec. 15, 1974.

Anders Bjork: Jake DeBrusk is an easy candidate for this spot after tallying his sixth goal of the year, but we’ll give this one to Bjork, who helped generate Pastrnak’s tally by chipping the puck up ahead of the winger. Bjork, who was solid with a new-look third line featuring Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner, had a 60.00% shot share in his 12:04 of 5v5 TOI — with Boston landing 10 shots on goal during that stretch. 

TWO DOWN: 

Zdeno Chara: Chara is going to want to have this one back — as a costly turnover against Joel Armia stood as the lone reason why Montreal held a lead for close to 46 minutes of play. 

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1201296743461244930

Brad Marchand: Marchand, battling flu symptoms for the last couple of days, was pretty quiet in this one — failing to land a shot on goal while getting tagged for a goal against on Armia’s tally. 

PLAY OF THE GAME: Price had no way of stopping this rocket. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1201323522376818688

PARTING THOUGHT: Can confirm — the Bruins and Habs still don’t like each other: 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1201314903258255360

LOOKING AHEAD: The Bruins will continue their five-game homestand on Tuesday night, when the B’s welcome the Carolina Hurricanes to town. It will be the first meeting between the two clubs since Boston swept the ‘Canes in the Eastern Conference Finals back in May. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.