Final, Montreal Wins 6-4
The Canadiens’ offense was just too much for Tuukka Rask and the Bruins to handle. Boston scored a season-high four goals, but Rask allowed five goals before getting pulled in favor of Niklas Svedberg in the third period. The B’s will get two days off before taking on the Sabres in Buffalo on Saturday.
Stay tuned to NESN.com for postgame coverage and highlights.
Third Period, 19:00, 6-4 Montreal: P.A. Parenteau seals the deal with an empty-net goal from just outside the blue line.
GIF via Twitter/@MyRegularFace
Third Period, 18:44, 5-4 Montreal: Milan Lucic takes a boardng penalty and Montreal is going back to the power play.
Third Period, 14:11, 5-4 Montreal: The Bruins are within one after Simon Gagne capitalizes on a rebound to score his first goal as a member of the B’s. It went off his leg and into the net. David Krejci and Milan Lucic were credited with assists.
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Third Period, 7:17, 5-3 Montreal: The Canadiens have doubled their lead. Brendan Gallagher scores his second goal of the game, this time from the slot. Max Pacioretty and Alexei Emelin received assists.
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Tuukka Rask is being replaced by Niklas Svedberg.
Third Period, 5:44, 4-3 Montreal: The Bruins are being very sloppy with the puck right now and making too many turnovers in all three zones. Dougie Hamilton just turned the puck over in the left faceoff circle and David Desharnais had a 1-on-1 chance with Tuukka Rask, but the Montreal center shot the puck high and into the netting.
Third Period, 1:44, 4-3 Montreal: Bruins kill Brad Marchand’s tripping penalty from the second period and we’re back to even strength.
Third Period, 0:01, 4-3 Montreal: The final period of regulation is underway!
End of Second Period, Montreal 4-3
Stats
Shots: Boston 22-19
Faceoffs: Montreal 23-20
Hits: Montreal 22-11
Special Teams: BOS 1-3, MTL 1-2
Goals
First Period
Zdeno Chara PPG (1), assisted by David Krejci (1) and Milan Lucic (1)
Max Pacioretty PPG (2), assisted by David Desharnais (2)
Second Period
Brendan Gallagher (2), assisted by David Desharnais (3) and Max Pacioretty (1)
Carl Soderberg (1), assisted by Chris Kelly (2) and Loui Eriksson (1)
Torey Krug (1), unassisted
Jiri Sekac (1), assisted by Rene Bourque (1) and Jarred Tinordi (2)
P.A. Parenteau (1), assisted by Tomas Plekanec (2) and Alex Galchenyuk (3)
Second Period, 19:43, 4-3 Montreal: Boston is back on the penalty kill. Brad Marchand took a tripping penalty.
Second Period, 19:36, 4-3 Montreal: The Canadiens have regained the lead with a P.A. Parenteau goal from the slot. Tomas Plekanec and Alex Galchenyuk were credited with assists.
GIF via Twitter/@PeteBlackburn
Second Period, 18:11, 3-3: Jiri Sekac has scored his first career NHL goal and we’re tied again. Jarred Tinordi and Rene Bourque were credited with assists.
Second Period, 14:12, 3-2 Boston: The penalties are over and we’re back to 5-on-5.
Second Period, 12:12, 3-2 Boston: Brad Marchand (slashing) and P.K. Subban (embellishment) go to the penalty box for two minutes. We’ll have 4-on-4 action.
Second Period, 11:31, 3-2 Boston: The Bruins have taken the lead again. Torey Krug showed great patience to elude a diving Mike Weaver, and then his pass to the crease went off a Canadiens player’s skate and past Carey Price. A bit of good luck for the B’s. Krug was credited with the goal, his first of the season.
GIF via Twitter/@MyRegularFace
Second Period, 8:34, 2-2: The Bruins have tied the game with a goal from Carl Soderberg. He whiffed on his first shot attempt from the slot, then capitalized on his second try. It’s his first goal of the season, with assists credited to Loui Eriksson and Chris Kelly.
GIF via Twitter/@MyRegularFace
Second Period, 7:43, 2-1 Montreal: Montreal has taken its first lead. Tuukka Rask made the initial stop, but the puck bounced into the crease and Brendan Gallagher pounded on it before Dougie Hamilton could clear it. Max Pacioretty and Andrei Markov were credited with assists.
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Second Period, 7:20, 1-1: After about five minutes of end-to-end action without a whistle and both teams trading quality scoring chances, Montreal finds the back of the net. But the goal was waved off due to a hand pass by Canadiens forward David Desharnais.
GIF via Twitter/@PeteBlackburn
Second Period, 2:53, 1-1: Tuukka Rask makes a glove save on Max Pacioretty after a Montreal 3-on-2 scoring chance.
Second Period, 0:01, 1-1: Play has resumed.
End of First Period, 1-1
Stats
Shots: Boston 13-7
Faceoffs: Montreal 12-9
Hits: Montreal 11-7
Special Teams: BOS 1-2, MTL 1-1
Goals
Zdeno Chara (1), assisted by David Krejci (1) and Milan Lucic (1)
Max Pacioretty (2), assisted by David Desharnais (2)
First Period, 19:30, 1-1: The Bruins used the same five players on the power play to end the period — David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Seth Griffith, Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug. They created a few good chances but couldn’t find the go-ahead goal.
First Period, 18:10, 1-1: Boston is going back to the power play after a Max Pacioretty tripping penalty.
First Period, 17:10, 1-1: The Canadiens spent over a minute in the attacking zone, but Tuukka Rask made at least two good saves to keep the scored tied.
First Period, 11:33, 1-1: The Canadiens have tied the score with a power-play goal of their own. Max Pacioretty is credited with the goal. David Desharnais picks up an assist.
GIF via Twitter/@MyRegularFace
First Period, 11:11, 1-0 Boston: Dennis Seidenberg has taken a minor penalty for holding the stick. Montreal is going to the power play.
First Period, 9:03, 1-0 Boston: Seth Griffith hits the right post from the left faceoff circle, but right after that, a David Krejci shot from the right point is deflected by Zdeno Chara in front of the net and past Carey Price. It’s Boston’s third power-play goal of the season.
GIF via Twitter/@PeteBlackburn
First Period, 8:07, 0-0: Carey Price sends the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. Boston is 0-1 with the man advantage so far.
First Period, 4:55, 0-0: Montreal kills the penalty and we’re back to even strength.
First Period, 4:55, 0-0: A David Krejci point shot hits off Milan Lucic and pops into the crease. Carey Price and Mike Weaver do a good job of preventing Seth Griffith from stuffing the puck home.
First Period, 4:33, 0-0: The Bruins are going on the power play for the first time. Alexei Emelin has taken a minor penalty for tripping.
First Period, 1:45, 0-0: Alexei Emelin knocks Milan Lucic to the ice with a huge hit on the Boston forward’s first shift of the game. He’s getting booed every time he’s near the puck.
GIF via Twitter/@MyRegularFace
First Period, 0:01, 0-0: We’re underway in Montreal.
7:32 p.m.: According to the official roster sheet, Gregory Campbell is in the lineup tonight. Ryan Spooner is a healthy scratch.
7:10 p.m.: Bruins lines in warmups:
Milan Lucic–David Krejci–Seth Griffith
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly–Carl Soderberg–Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille–Ryan Spooner–Simon Gagne
7:03 p.m.: Canadiens forward Dale Weise is not on the ice for warmups.
[tweet https://twitter.com/JFChaumontJDM/status/522884967253020673 align=”center”]
7:00 p.m.: Tuukka Rask leads the Bruins onto the ice for warmups. Carey Price does the same for the Canadiens.
6:55 p.m.: There will be a 21-minute pre-game ceremony from 7:24 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. This is Montreal’s home opener.
6:25 p.m.: Gregory Campbell has missed the Bruins’ first five games with a core injury. Ryan Spooner and Craig Cunningham have skated in his spot at center on the fourth line this season.
[tweet https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/522875983112585217 align=”center”]
6:17 p.m.: MONTREAL — The NHL’s best rivalry resumes Thursday night at the Bell Centre when the Montreal Canadiens begin their home schedule against the Boston Bruins.
It’s the first meeting between these teams since Montreal ended Boston’s Stanley Cup pursuit in the second round of last season’s playoffs.
The Bruins enter this contest following a 3-2 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night, which snapped their three-game losing streak. It arguably was the B’s best performance of the 2014-15 season, but they will need an even better game Thursday night to earn their first winning streak of the campaign.
Tuukka Rask is expected to start in net for Boston. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner was 1-2-1 with a 1.95 goals against average and a .932 save percentage against the Canadiens in 2013-14. He was 1-1-0 with a .950 save percentage at the Bell Centre.
The playoffs were a different story. Rask gave up three goals in a second round Game 3 loss, earned a shutout in Game 4 and then surrendered four goals in a Game 6 defeat. He didn’t play poorly in the series, but the Finnish netminder didn’t perform at the level most expected after a Vezina-winning campaign.
The Bruins have a chance to make an early-season statement and climb back to the .500 mark in the standings with a victory Thursday night. It’s the first of four meetings between these division rivals.
Stay with NESN.com’s Bruins-Canadiens live blog for score updates, injury news, analysis and highlights from the Bell Centre.
Here are the projected lineups for both teams:
BOSTON (2-3-0)
Milan Lucic–David Krejci–Seth Griffith
Brad Marchand–Patrice Bergeron–Reilly Smith
Chris Kelly–Carl Soderberg–Loui Eriksson
Daniel Paille–Ryan Spooner–Simon Gagne
Zdeno Chara–Dougie Hamilton
Dennis Seidenberg–Adam McQuaid
Kevan Miller–Torey Krug
Tuukka Rask
MONTREAL (3-1-0)
P.A. Parenteau–Tomas Plekanec–Alex Galchenyuk
Max Pacioretty–David Desharnais–Brendan Gallagher
Jiri Sekac–Lars Eller–Rene Bourque
Brandon Prust–Manny Malhotra–Dale Weise/Travis Moen
P.K. Subban–Alexei Emelin
Andrei Markov–Tom Gilbert
Jarred Tinordi–Mike Weaver
Carey Price
