BOSTON — Zdeno Chara, a bete noire in Montreal since the hit that sent Max Pacioretty to the hospital, had three assists on Thursday night as the Boston Bruins turned a grudge match into a blowout and beat the Canadiens 7-0.
The win left Boston five points ahead of second-place Montreal in the Northeast Division.
Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell scored twice, and David Krejci and Milan Lucic also had three assists for the Bruins as they beat Montreal for just the second time in six games this season. Tim Thomas stopped 24 shots for his career-best eighth shutout and 25th of his career.
Johnny Boychuk, Adam McQuaid and Tomas Kaberle also scored for Boston.
Carey Price allowed five goals on 33 shots before he was replaced with 15:31 left following Adam McQuaid's goal that made it 5-0. Price is 2-5 in his last seven starts, allowing 21 goals in his five losses. He was replaced by Alex Auld, who stopped six of eight shots.
It was Montreal's second consecutive shutout.
The highly anticipated game between the Original Six rivals came 16 days after Chara banged Pacioretty into a padded stanchion, leaving him on the ice with a broken vertebrae and a concussion. The hit prompted Montreal fans to call police and demand criminal charges; authorities say they have opened an investigation.
The NHL chose not to suspend Chara. The Bruins captain said he has tried unsuccessfully to contact Pacioretty, who was released from the hospital after two days and is expected to be out at least until the playoffs.
Fans were scanned with metal detecting wands when they came through security — a routine measure, according to TD Garden General Manager Hugh Lombardi. Although he would not comment on specific measures, he said security was "heightened."
"Typical Montreal and Boston," he said before the start of the third period. "We like to make sure we're on our toes."
The Boston fans taunted the Canadiens fans among them, waving signs that said "Call 911" and mocking the cheers usually heard at the Bell Centre. But there were no obvious problems in the stands, and just one short fight on the ice between Campbell and Paul Mara.
The Bruins quickly made sure there wasn't any suspense over the outcome.
Boychuk scored 61 seconds into the game, then Campbell made it 2-0 later in the first and Horton had his first of the game to give the Bruins a three goal lead after one. The second period was scoreless, and then the Bruins erupted for four goals in the third to chase Price from the net and turn it into a rout.
With under seven minutes left in the game and the Bruins giving up a 5-on-3 advantage, Campbell poked the puck out of the zone and split the defenders to break free, beating Auld to make it 7-0. Another goal came just after the final buzzer, but was disallowed.
Notes
Chara has three goals and eight assists in his last nine games. … The Bruins signed Boston University junior D David Warsofsky, a fourth-round draft pick who was a former captain of the U.S. under-18 team and a star of BU's 2009 NCAA championship. He was assigned to Providence of the AHL. … Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky was at the game as an ambassador for TD Bank. … Mark Recchi had one assist to tie Paul Coffey with 1,531 points — 12th on the NHL's career list. … The last time Montreal visited Boston, the Bruins won 8-6 in a game with 187 penalty minutes and a fight between goalies Thomas and Price.