BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Canadiens 1 - Marchand’s hat trick lifts B’s past lowly Habs

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-1 win over the Canadiens, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

SHORT SHIFT

There may not be a more dangerous player in the NHL than Brad Marchand right now. 

Marchand — broken nose and all — continued his offensive warpath on Wednesday against the lowly Habs, burying his fifth career hat trick to lift the B’s to a 5-1 victory over Montreal at TD Garden. 

Curtis Lazar also scored twice for the Bruins, who have won six of seven games since the new year and improved to 20-11-2 this season. 

Ten different Bruins skaters recorded at least a point in the win, with the Bruins averaging 4.7 goals per game since Jan. 1. Sixteen different Bruins have scored a goal over that stretch. Linus Ullmark stopped 24 of 25 shots in the win. 

After a slow opening 10 minutes of action, Marchand sparked the B’s to a lead that they would not relinquish — lighting the lamp twice over the span of just 15 seconds to put the Habs on their heels. 

Boston added another in the final minute of the first, with a shot from Jake DeBrusk deflecting off of Lazar down low and past Sam Montembeault to pad the B’s lead to 3-0.

Marchand completed his hat trick in fitting fashion at 7:10 in the second, burying a shorthanded tally to give Boston a 4-0 lead. 

Michael Pezzetta finally beat Ullmark at 10:46 in the second, but the Bruins had the last laugh in a game with 42 combined penalty minutes — with Lazar capping the scoring at 10:19 in the third off another deflection. 

(Lazar’s second goal of the night was originally credited to Urho Vaakanainen — which would have been his first career goal — but it was credited to Lazar shortly after the game ended.)

The Bruins have had the Habs’ number over the last few seasons — posting a record of 13-2-1 in their last 16 meetings against their archrival.

FIVE UP

Brad Marchand: Don’t look now, but Marchand is on an absolute heater — burying eight goals over his last four games. Marchand’s two-goal salvo over 15 seconds in the first was the fastest pair of goals scored by a B’s skater since Milan Lucic scored twice in 15 seconds back on Nov. 18, 2010.

Curtis Lazar and Boston’s fourth line: Yes, the Bruins’ revamped top-six unit has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting over this recent scoring surge, but guys like Curtis Lazar have also chipped in with some much-needed contributions. Lazar led the way on Boston’s bottom-six unit with his first career three-point game, headlining another strong showing from a B’s checking crew that has had guys shuffle in and out of the lineup for the last week or so.

Tomas Nosek added a primary helper off of a crisp feed to Marchand on his first goal, while Anton Blidh recorded an assist of his own while doling out five hits in 9:46 of ice time. 

Patrice Bergeron: Along with a productive night on the scoresheet (two assists) and at the faceoff circle (63 percent), Bergeron also provided some physical responses against a chippy Habs crew — bringing down Pezzetta after objecting to a hit against Matt Grzelcyk.

Linus Ullmark: Yes, the 2021-22 Habs are far from a wagon, but Ullmark continued to do his part in net for the B’s. The Bruins should receive a major lift with Tuukka Rask back on the roster, but Ullmark is 7-1-0 with a .926 save percentage since the start of December.

ONE DOWN

Power play: The Bruins thoroughly handled the Habs in this one, but the final score could have been even more lopsided had the B’s managed to cash in on one of their five power-play bids on Wednesday night. 

LOOSE PUCKS

B’s lose Moore to injury 

An already shorthanded B’s D corps lost another skater during Wednesday’s game, as John Moore exited the contest due to an upper-body injury. The veteran logged 9:09 of ice time and assisted on Marchand’s shorthanded goal before getting knocked out of the game. 

The Bruins have now lost a player in their lineup in three consecutive matchups — with Nick Foligno, Trent Frederic and John Moore all landing on the shelf since Saturday.

With Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton still in COVID protocols, the Bruins may have to get creative on the blue line on Thursday — with Providence tough guy Tyler Lewington currently on the roster as an emergency call-up.

A classic Bruins/Habs bout: Yes, this Montreal team is quite dreadful. But Wednesday sure felt like another classic meeting between these two Original Six rivals — with a raucous TD Garden crowd pacing the festivities with cheers and jeers throughout.

Be it a Marchand hat trick, the return of Rask on the B’s bench or a number of scraps (including one nasty headbutt from Habs skater Chris Wideman), Bruins fans got their money's worth in this one.

 PLAY OF THE GAME

QUOTE OF NOTE

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

The Bruins paid tribute to Teddy Balkind ahead of puck drop — holding a moment of silence for the 16-year-old Connecticut native after he tragically lost his life during a high-school hockey game last week. 

Prior to the start of the game, Bergeron placed a custom Bruins jersey adorned with Balkind’s name and number behind the B’s bench.

Rest easy, Teddy.  

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will continue their seven-game homestand at TD Garden on Thursday night with a matchup against the Flyers. Tuukka Rask is expected to make his season debut in the matchup. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.