BSJ Game Report: Bruins 5, Canadiens 3 - Bruins sweep season series against Habs

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 5-3 win over the Canadiens, with BSJ insight and analysis:

BOX SCORE

HEADLINES

Bruins take care of business: The Bruins and Habs might sit on opposite ends when it comes to their spots in the Eastern Conference standings, but Sunday’s meeting at the Bell Centre had all of the makings of a tough night for the Boston — especially in the immediate aftermath of an emotional pregame ceremony for the late Guy Lafleur. 

But as soon as the puck dropped following a 10-minute standing ovation from the packed Montreal barn, the Bruins swung momentum back in their favor— scoring twice in the opening period and setting the tone en route to a 5-3 victory over Montreal, securing a season-series sweep against their top rival. 

Even with David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm sitting this one out after returning to game action on Saturday, the Bruins handled the cellar-dwelling Habs for most of the first 40 minutes of action — holding a 31-16 edge in shots on goal going into the second intermission.

Granted, the Bruins were handed a major break when Erik Haula was awarded a penalty shot on a ticky-tack call against Mike Hoffman in the closing minutes of the first period (with the B’s pivot subsequently scoring against Sam Montembeault despite overskating the puck on his first attempt) but Boston controlled play for most of the first two periods, with Patrice Bergeron and Charlie McAvoy also lighting the lamp in the victory. 

Things did get dicey in the third, with Hoffman and Nick Suzuki beating Jeremy Swayman in a frame where the B’s did take their foot off the gas. Still, Boston did manage to hold on for its fourth win in its last five games. 

With the Bruins earning a regulation win and the Capitals falling to Toronto in a shootout, Boston now holds a three-point lead over Washington in the Wild-Card standings. 

B’s avoid injury scare with Hall: Even though the Bruins are continuing to keep close tabs on the standings over this final week of the regular season, the top priority over these four remaining games should be maintaining good health across the roster — especially ahead of another grueling postseason push.

Giving both Pastrnak and Lindholm some added rest following strong performances against New York on Saturday was a prudent move by Boston, but the B’s were given a scare midway through the second period on Sunday — as a hit from Laurent Dauphin clanged Taylor Hall against the glass.

The B’s second-line winger was clearly shaken up following the hit, but after gathering himself and speaking with a trainer, Hall skated back to the B’s bench on his own and was back on the ice later in the frame.

The Bruins have had their fair share of poor luck over the years when it comes to injuries during the final week of the regular season — be it Brandon Carlo breaking his leg in 2018 or Kevan Miller fracturing his kneecap in 2019. Boston will be keeping its fingers crossed that such misfortune doesn’t befall them once again in 2022.  

FOUR UP

Patrice Bergeron: Another game, another bump up in the record books for the Bruins captain. With his first-period tally, Bergeron passed Ray Bourque for the fourth-most career goals by a Bruins player (396). Bergeron now trails only Johnny Bucyk (545), Phil Esposito (459) and Rick Middleton (402) on Boston’s all-time goals list. 

Erik Haula: Yes, Haula sure seems to have benefited from a pretty weak call on Hoffman during that penalty-shot chance, but the B’s second-line center later buried another goal at 5v5 play — tapping a puck past Montembeault off of a slick feed from Tomas Nosek. 

Charlie McAvoy: McAvoy’s sterling season continues. With his second-period tally, McAvoy reached the 10-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career, with the B’s top-pairing blueliner now up to 55 points in 76 career games. Along with his goal off of an O-zone faceoff, McAvoy logged 22:36 of ice time, doled out five hits and blocked four shots.

Connor Clifton: For all of the talk regarding a potential third pairing of Derek Forbort and Mike Reilly, Clifton has done a very good job on that third D pair since getting drawn back into the lineup. Along with some crisp passing, Clifton has been assertive and physical all over the ice over these last few games. The Bruins will need that type of decisive, bruising play in the coming weeks.

THREE DOWN

Trent Frederic: The Bruins will welcome Frederic’s sandpaper style of play in the postseason, but the B’s winger can’t be putting his team on the PK off of pointless infractions such as the unsportsmanlike conduct call levied against him in the final seconds of the first period. Sure enough, Montreal made the most of Frederic’s poor discipline, with Josh Anderson scoring on the power play just 1:51 into the second period. 

Brad Marchand: You could make the argument that Marchand belongs more in the “meh” category instead of the “down” designation, considering that the B’s winger helped generate Bergeron’s opening strike with a committed drive to the net in the first period. Still, given the spotlight that’s already put on a player with Marchand’s reputation, he’s got to do a much better job of keeping his emotions in check, because he can’t be catching guys with a high stick — as he did with Anderson in this game. He’s definitely frustrated with his extended goalless drought, but Marchand needs to be a lot smarter here.

Third-period sleepwalking: We can single out a number of lax plays from Boston in that final 20 minutes of play, but we’ll focus on Nick Suzuki’s tally, with Brandon Carlo not moving the puck out along the boards — and a miscommunication from Haula and Matt Grzelcyk leading to plenty of free real estate in front of Jeremy Swayman. Not great. 

PLAY OF THE GAME

Just an absolutely chaotic, hilarious sequence right here. The Bruins will take it, however. 

LOOSE PUCKS 

Just an unbelievable moment at Bell Centre — with Guy Lafleur’s tribute video bookended by an 11-minute standing ovation by the Habs faithful. As expected from this crowd.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will be back at TD Garden on Tuesday night, with the B’s set to battle the Florida Panthers — a club that has won 13 of its last 14 games. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.