Goaltender Samuel Montembeault obtained little assist and was shell-shocked, permitting eight targets on 30 pictures earlier than mercifully being changed by Cayden Primeau within the third interval.
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Geographically talking, the Canadiens’ three-game street journey over 4 days made little sense — starting in New Jersey, adopted by a visit to Ottawa after which again to the U.S., in Boston.
On high of that, Montreal gamers had been pressured to sit down on the bench for greater than 20 minutes Saturday night time whereas a pre-game ceremony honouring the 1988 Bruins staff — the primary that lastly beat the Canadiens within the playoffs — befell.
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Was there any correlation between all this and Boston’s 9-4 drubbing of the guests at TD Backyard? It’s totally potential.
It was essentially the most targets Montreal has surrendered this season in a recreation, though the 4 unanswered Bruins’ targets within the third interval made a aggressive contest look totally one-sided. It additionally got here solely 48 hours after the Canadiens allowed six in opposition to the Senators — the fifth time Montreal has allowed that whole.
Danton Heinen paced the Bruins with three targets, his first profession hat-trick. Heinen had 5 targets in 36 video games this season earlier than going through Montreal. Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha, captain Brad Marchand, Jake DeBrusk and David Pastrnak added singles. Certainly, each Boston participant besides fourth-line centre Matthew Poitras produced at the least one level.
At one juncture within the second interval, Boston scored two targets in 49 seconds.
“I assumed via two durations it was an excellent recreation, a enjoyable recreation to be a part of,” Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis advised reporters in Boston following the embarrassing defeat. “The third interval was onerous. Now and again this league will humble you. That’s form of what occurred to our staff within the third interval.
Street to the Cup
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“That’s OK. Possibly it is a interval that sends us to a better place. We’ll study from this. It’s onerous going via it, however it’s no time to really feel sorry for your self.”
Pastrnak, the Bruins’ main scorer, now has 30 targets and 66 factors in 45 video games and continues to supply regardless of the retirement of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, his former linemates. Pastrnak scored 61 targets and 113 factors in 82 video games final season. Pastrnak scored three targets in Boston’s 5-2 victory in opposition to Colorado on Thursday.
In 28 profession video games in opposition to Montreal, Pastrnak has 18 targets and 37 factors. Marchand has 17 targets and 45 factors in 53 video games in opposition to the Canadiens.
The Canadiens truly scored first within the recreation, barely greater than 9 minutes following the opening faceoff, when Cole Caufield scored on the ability play. It was Caufield’s sixteenth aim this season and his fifth in as many video games.
Caufield turns into the fifth Montreal participant previously 50 years to document a five-game goal-scoring streak on the age of 23 or youthful. The final was Andrei Kostitsyn in 2008-09. The others embody John LeClair (’92-’93), together with Man Lafleur and Steve Shutt, each throughout the 1974-75 season.
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Mike Matheson, Brendan Gallagher and Joel Armia additionally scored for Montreal. Sean Monahan had three assists for the Canadiens, who went 2-for-3 on the power-play.
However it clearly wasn’t a great night time defensively.
Six gamers — Caufield, Matheson, David Savard, Josh Anderson, Juraj Slafkovsky and Jake Evans — all had plus/minus totals of minus-3, whereas Gallagher, captain Nick Suzuki, Jayden Struble and Justin Barron had been all minus-2. Anderson returned to the lineup for the primary time since Jan. 11, in opposition to San Jose, having recovered from a lower-body damage. It was his 499th profession NHL recreation and he gained a second-period combat in opposition to Trent Frederic.
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Goaltender Samuel Montembeault obtained little assist and was shell-shocked, permitting eight targets on 30 pictures for a save proportion of .733, earlier than mercifully being changed by Cayden Primeau at 9:13 of the third interval. Primeau, who performed in opposition to Ottawa, was crushed on the primary shot he confronted.
It was Montembeault’s seventh begin in 11 video games.
“He (Montembeault) shouldn’t be too onerous on himself,” Suzuki advised reporters in Boston. “We positively let him down. He has been wonderful all yr, making large saves. We’ve received to play higher in entrance of him. I don’t assume he ought to fear an excessive amount of about it. The blokes in entrance of him didn’t play properly.”
The Bruins (28-8-9) gained their fourth consecutive recreation and improved to 12-0-1 in opposition to Montreal. The Canadiens as soon as once more fell under .500 (19-20-7), however can actual revenge in opposition to the Senators on Tuesday night time on the Bell Centre.
“Truthfully, it’s a recreation going into the third,” Gallagher advised reporters in Boston. “We made quite a lot of errors that (I assumed) we had grown out of. We resorted again to perhaps the staff that we had been early on within the yr (and) going again to final season. That’s not the staff we’re pleased with. We wish to say we’re constructing round right here, however we took a step again tonight, clearly.
“Tonight, we received taught a lesson.”
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