Final, Canadiens 4-1: This one comes to a merciful end, with the Bruins falling in an ugly showing in Montreal.
The Bruins failed to close ground on the top spot in the Eastern Conference and now find themselves back in a dogfight in the Northeast Division. The Habs are just three points back, though Boston does have a game in hand. They could have extended the lead to seven points with a win though, and now this race will go down to the wire.
The Bruins will get back into action at the Garden against the suddenly hot Sabres, and may have to do it without captain Zdeno Chara if there is any supplemental discipline for his hit on Max Pacioretty (video of hit can be found here).
Third Period, 17:34, Canadiens 4-1: Tempers flare a bit again with Lucic going after Benoit Pouliot, who fought Krejci in the last meeting. Lucic gets called for roughing, but nothing further develops.
If you missed the Chara hit on Pacioretty earlier, the video is up on our site here.
Third Period, 17:23, Canadiens 4-1: Price and Hal Gill get tangled up behind the net, but the Bruins can't take advantage of the breifly open cage.
Third Period, 13:21, Canadiens 4-1: And the Bruins do break the shutout, with Milan Lucic firing a rocket from the left circle over Price's glove hand off a feed by David Krejci.
Third Period, 12:40, Canadiens 4-0: The Bruins just trying to get something positive to build off out of this game, but Price is battling hard to maintain his shutout.
Third Period, 9:45, Canadiens 4-0: The energy is picking up again with some hitting and chances at both ends, the best being Mark Recchi's bid at the left post that was denied by Price.
Third Period, 6:50, Canadiens 4-0: Neither side playing with much energy or intensity in this period. That was to be expected after seeing Pacioretty stretchered off at the end of the second.
Third Period, 4:45, Canadiens 4-0: The Bruins are back at full strength after killing off the Chara penalty, which was served by Shawn Thornton.
Third Period, 4:08, Canadiens 4-0: Brad Marchand taken down on a shorthanded breakaway gets a penalty shot, but is denied by Price on the chance.
Third Period, 3:30, Canadiens 4-0: Habs have announced that Pacioretty is conscious and moving his arms and legs at a local hospital in Montreal.
Third Period, 1:20, Canadiens 4-0: Adam McQuaid is hobbled after blocking a shot in front. His injury draws a cheer from the always "classy" Montreal fans.
Third Period, 0:00, Canadiens 4-0: The extended third period is under way, with Montreal opening with a five-minute power play.
The final 15.8 seconds of the second were played first, followed by a whistle and new faceoff at center ice.
Second Intermission Notes: Things took an ugly turn in the second period, in more ways than one. The Bruins continued to be thoroughly outplayed and fell behind 4-0, then it got worse for both sides when Zdeno Chara rode Max Pacioretty into the boards late in the period.
Chara was given a five-minute interference major and a game misconduct, while Pacioretty was taken off on a stretcher as the period was called with 15.8 seconds remaining.
When play resumes, the Habs will open with a five-minute power play after already scoring on 2 of 3 chances with the man-advantage. The Bruins are 0 for 4 on the power play and are now 0 for 16 in the last seven games and 1 for 21 in seven games since acquiring Tomas Kaberle to run the power play.
Montreal now leads 20-17 in shots (11-6 in second), 16-12 in hits and 24-4 in blocked shots. Boston's only positive in this one is its faceoff work, where the Bruins are 25-15 (63 percent), led by Patrice Bergeron (9-2).
End Second Period, Canadiens 4-0: The second period is being called now, with the final 15.8 seconds being tacked onto the third as Pacioretty is helped on the ice.
Second Period, 19:44, Canadiens 4-0: Bad scene here as Chara drives Pacioretty into the glass along the boards at center ice. Pacioretty is down and a stretcher is out on the ice. Chara is gone for the night with a major penalty for interference and a game misconduct, but first concern is for Pacioretty's condition.
Second Period, 19:11, Canadiens 4-0: The Habs call timeout with a faceoff in their zone after an icing, trying to prevent Boston from grabbing any momentum heading into the third.
Second Period, 15:09, Canadiens 4-0: The Habs have no problem converting their chance as James Wisniewski blasts one home from the top of the left circle.
That might do it for this one. Might be time to start settling some scores, because it doesn't look like Boston will be able to match Montreal's scoring.
Second Period, 14:31, Canadiens 3-0: Had to know the Habs would get their chance on the power play soon, and it comes after Boychuk is called for upending Max Pacioretty in the corner. That followed a big hit on Seidenberg by Pacioretty. Boychuk goes for tripping.
Second Period, 13:34, Canadiens 3-0: Another fruitless power play for the Bruins, who couldn't even convert when they caught Jeff Halpern out with a broken stick for a long stretch.
Second Period, 11:34, Canadiens 3-0: The Bruins fail again on the power play, but will get another chance right away as Montreal is called for too many men. Boston is now 0 for 15 in the last seven games and 1 for 20 since Kaberle joined the club.
Second Period, 9:26, Canadiens 3-0: The Bruins get another power-play chance to try to claw back into this one, as Hamrlik goes off for tripping.
Second Period, 7:15, Canadiens 3-0: The Bruins are in big trouble now, as Brian Gionta makes it 3-0 with a power-play strike.
He fired in a shot that deflected off Rask and just over the line as Rask tried to fall back on it and several Bruins tried to swat at it to keep it from crossing the line.
Second Period, 6:41, Canadiens 2-0: The Bruins are now shorthanded again, with Chris kelly going off for hooking. He's actually fortunate, as it looked more like a high-stick and Paul Mara was cut, which would have been a four-minute penalty.
Second Period, 4:10, Canadiens 2-0: Nathan Horton goes hard into the net coming down the right wing. It was Hal Gill's stick in Horton's skates that put him off balance, but no call on the play.
Second Period, 2:55, Canadiens 2-0: It's 0 for 14 and counting now on the power play as the Bruins come up empty again.
Second Period, 0:55, Canadiens 2-0: Another power-play chance for the Bruins, as Tomas Plekanec is sent off for a knee-on-knee hit on Milan Lucic.
Second Period, 0:00, Canadiens 2-0: And the middle frame is under way at the Bell Centre, where the Bruins will look to try to mount a comeback.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins outshot Montreal 11-9. They outhit the Habs 7-5. They were 11-7 on faceoffs, led by Patrice Bergeron's 5-0 mark. But they still trail 2-0 after 20 minutes.
That's due to a couple ill-timed defensive breakdowns that Lars Eller took advantage of for his first two-goal night in the NHL. Even with the slight shot advantage, the Bruins have struggled to get shots through the Montreal defense, which has a 12-3 edge in blocked shots. Paul Mara leads with three, but every defenseman except Roman Hamrlik has at least one. The Bruins have also had some costly giveaways, including Travis Moen's steal to set up the second goal.
Tyler Seguin hasn't done much yet to state his case to stay in the lineup. he skated 2:52 over five shifts in the first with no shots and no hits. He also gave Montreal its only power-play chance with a tripping call. The Bruins failed to convert their only power-play opportunity after Ryan White received an instigator for the game's only bout so far when he took on Johnny Boychuk in a slugfest. The Bruins are now 0 for 13 on the man-advantage in the last six-plus games.
End First Period, Canadiens 2-0: The opening stanza comes to a close, and it wasn't a good start for the Bruins, who face a two-goal hole to dig out of in the final 40 minutes.
First Period, 17:37, Canadiens 2-0: Eller strikes again as he finds himself all alone in front and beats Rask for the second time in this one.
Travis Moen gets the only assist as he stole the puck from Michael Ryder to prevent a breakout and fed it down low to Eller at the top of the crease.
First Period, 16:10, Canadiens 1-0: The Bruins putting more pressure on now, but Price looks like he's feeling it tonight. He stoned Thornton at the left post, then stopped Krejci from the slot on back-to-back shifts.
First Period, 14:21, Canadiens 1-0: The Bruins with their best pressure yet as Marchand makes a nice play to send Bergeron in with speed. Bergeron fires in two shots from in close, but can't get one past Price.
First Period, 12:02, Canadiens 1-0: The Bruins haven't been able to get much going so far in this one, with the Habs making it tough for them to break out of their zone cleanly.
First Period, 8:21, Canadiens 1-0: The Habs strike first as Lars Eller bangs in a loose puck from the left slot to beat Rask.
Eller came in from the left boards and chopped in the puck after Paul Mara's point shot was blocked down out front. Travis Moen picks up the other assist as Montreal gets the all-important first goal.
First Period, 7:51, 0-0: The Bruins kill off the penalty and nearly score shorthanded when Price gave the puck away to Marchand in front, but it remains scoreless.
First Period, 5:51, 0-0: The Bruins now will have to kill off a penalty as Seguin is called for tripping up Hamrlik.
First Period, 5:11, 0-0: The Bruins once again can't convert on the power play. They're now 0 for 13 in the last 6-plus games and 1 for 18 since Tomas Kaberle joined the team.
First Period, 3:11, 0-0: The gloves are off early again as Johnny Boychuk tries to line up P.K. Subban with a huge hit. He doesn't get all of him, but Ryan White takes exception and White and Boychuk engage in a long, spirited scrap. Both landed big shots, with White appearing to get in the better blows, but he also got the extra penalty for instigating to put the Bruins on the power play.
First Period, 2:12, 0-0: Rask tested early with a couple shots, including a bid from the point by Paul Mara. That's probably good for Rask to get a feel for the puck early and get right into the game.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: The Bruins' final visit to Montreal this season, at least in the regular season, is under way at the Bell Centre.
7:30 p.m.: It's official, Tuukka Rask is starting in goal, with Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg on defense and Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and Mark Recchi up front to start this one.
Montreal counters with Carey price in net, James Wisniewski and Roman Hamrlik on the blue line and Max Pacioretty, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta up front.
7:25 p.m.: Daniel Paille is the scratch up front, joining injured defensemen Steven Kampfer and Andrew Ference, who did not make the trip to Montreal. That puts Tyler Seguin back in the lineup for Boston.
Alexandre Picard, Yannnick Weber and Tom Pyatt are the healthy scratches for the Canadiens as expected.
7 p.m.: In a bit of a surprise, Tuukka Rask led the team onto the ice for warm-ups, so it appears he will get the start in this one rather than Tim Thomas.
Still awaiting official confirmation of that and who will be scratched up front, as Daniel Paille and Tyler Seguin both skated in warm-ups.
6:45 p.m.: There's less than an hour to go before game time, but the action has already begun in Montreal with the war of words continuing between the Bruins and Habs after the morning skate.
Brad Marchand fired the biggest salvo, calling the Canadiens divers.
"They like to get in and shoot their mouths off and then when you hit them they'll dive down and fall easy," Marchand told reporters after Tuesday's morning skate. "They get a lot of shots behind the play, and then they play it off like when we run them they didn’t do anything to deserve it. That's the kind of team they are, they're pretty good at it."
Sounds like another fun one on tap tonight.
8 a.m.: The Bruins had their seven-game win streak snapped Saturday night but still salvaged a point with an overtime loss to the Penguins. Getting 15 out of a possible 16 points in their last eight games isn't bad.
Making it 17 out of 18 would be a whole lot better. Especially with those two additional points potentially coming at the expense of the Canadiens up in Montreal, where the Bruins have yet to win this season.
"We'd like to get some points in that building, two points preferably," Bruins forward Greg Campbell said of Tuesday's showdown with the Habs in Montreal. "They could potentially be a first-round playoff opponent so for us it's important to play well and get back on track from Saturday night. We've played pretty well up there the first two games. The results weren't what we wanted. They kind of stole a couple points from us there that game."
Montreal held off a late Bruins' charge for a 4-3 win in the first clash in the Bell Centre this season on Dec. 16, then shocked Boston with two goals in the final 2:22 of regulation and another in overtime for a 3-2 win on Jan. 8. The Bruins got some revenge at the Garden on Feb. 9 with a wild 8-6 win that featured 182 penalty minutes and 12 fights, including one between goalies Tim Thomas and Carey Price.
That was harmless entertainment for all parties, as neither netminder connected on any punches. Things were much more serious later, particularly a four-fight line brawl that featured one-sided beatdowns by Campbell, Shawn Thornton and Johnny Boychuk on Tom Pyatt, Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek, respectively.
The Canadiens complained about the rough treatment but have done nothing to address their utter lack of toughness. So this could get ugly again if the score gets out of hand. But it's more likely to be a tight, low-scoring affair with plenty of intensity but few true fights as the points at stake are too important for both teams.
The Bruins are just two points out of first place in the Eastern Conference, while Montreal is on a four-game win streak but still trails Boston by five points in the Northeast Division and cannot afford to fall further behind.
"I don't think expect anything at all," Bruins center Patrice Bergeron said. "We're going to play our game and stick to our system and do what's been getting us success, but at the same time it's huge points and we're not heading to Montreal hoping for the same things that happened last game. It was just one of those games that the emotion got the best of ourselves I think on both sides."
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action.
