FOXBORO, Mass. — The day Boston Bruins fans have been waiting for finally has come.
The NHL Winter Classic featuring the Bruins and the rival Montreal Canadiens at Gillette Stadium will take place Friday at 1 p.m. ET.
NESN.com will provide complete in-game coverage right here with our live blog. Stay tuned throughout the game for score updates, highlights and instant analysis.
FINAL, 5-1 Canadiens
Third Period, 18:28, 5-1 Montreal: Paul Byron scores his second goal of the game, this time on a rebound from the weak side.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/683034885704036356
Third Period, 18:18, 4-1 Montreal: Jimmy Hayes and Lars Eller engage in a fight in the final two minutes, but each player receives four penalty minutes for roughing.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/683034198328872960
Third Period, 11:00, 4-1 Montreal: Rask takes a puck off his mask and is a bit shaken up, but he remains in the game.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/683029935032786944
Third Period, 10:00, 4-1 Montreal: A great crowd at Gillette.
Today's sell-out crowd at @GilletteStadium: 67,246. #WinterClassic pic.twitter.com/Zut84qJx1F
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 1, 2016
Third Period, 8:49, 4-1 Montreal: Max Pacioretty scores, likely putting this game out of reach for the B’s. Gallagher picks up an assist for a multi-point game.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/683028506608070657
Third Period, 3:56, 3-1 Montreal: The Bruins are on the board, as Matt Beleskey scores to extend his point streak to four games. He also scored for Anaheim in the 2014 Ducks-Kings Stadium Series game.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/683025930151981060
Third Period, 0:01, 3-0 Montreal: Play has resumed!
Second intermission, 3-0 Montreal
Second Period, 19:00, 3-0 Montreal: A great save from Condon preserves Montreal’s lead.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/683018387577028610
Second Period, 17:20, 3-0 Montreal: Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher is all alone in front of the net and gives Montreal a 3-0 lead with this goal. He’s making his return to the Habs’ lineup after missing the previous 17 games with a hand injury.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/683017143387054086
Second Period, 16:10, 2-0 Montreal: B’s head coach Claude Julien has made some changes to his top two lines.
New lines:
Eriksson-Bergeron-Connolly
Beleskey-Spooner-Hayes— Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) January 1, 2016
Second Period, 14:45, 2-0 Montreal: The Canadiens are dominating puck possession (see tweet below). Luckily for the Bruins, Rask just made three Grade-A saves in the last minute to keep it a two-goal game.
Score-adjusted Corsi is currently 83.6% in favour of Montreal.
— Andrew Berkshire (@AndrewBerkshire) January 1, 2016
Second Period, 11:45, 2-0 Montreal: Here’s an injury update for the Canadiens as the Bruins go on another power play.
#canadiens Dale Weise in the dressing room.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) January 1, 2016
Second Period, 8:25, 2-0 Montreal: The Bruins score, but an early whistle makes the play stop before Habs goalie Mike Condon lost the puck and it was jammed past the goal line. Tough break for the B’s.
Kevin Pollock had the play blown dead before Condon rotated his knee and the puck popped free.
— Jack Edwards (@RealJackEdwards) January 1, 2016
Second Period, 5:30, 2-0 Montreal: Fantastic elbow save from Rask.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/683010315999576064
Second Period, 2:00, 2-0 Montreal: Paul Byron doubles Montreal’s lead with a goal from the top of the crease. He’s a Lynnfield, Mass., native.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/683009985182363649
Second Period, 0:01, 1-0 Montreal: Play has resumed!
First Intermission, 1-0 Montreal
https://twitter.com/NickGossNESN/status/683007816303513602
First Period, 20:00, 1-0 Montreal: The Canadiens will begin the second period with 0:33 of power-play time. Adam McQuaid took a minor penalty for delay of game with less than two minutes remaining.
Also, B’s captain Zdeno Chara doesn’t like it when opponents get too close to his goalie.
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First Period, 16:30, 1-0 Montreal: Bruins winger Matt Beleskey pummels Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/683001354164531200
First Period, 15:00, 1-0 Montreal: The Habs are dominating play so far.
Canadiens have a 12-3 lead in scoring chances (all situations), per War on Ice. #WinterClassic
— Nicholas W. Goss (@NickGossNBCSB) January 1, 2016
Total shots attempted: MTL 17, BOS 3.
Rask is saving NBC's rating as well as darn near every shot.— Jack Edwards (@RealJackEdwards) January 1, 2016
First Period, 8:42, 1-0 Montreal: Bruins defenseman Torey Krug and Desharnais throw some jabs at each other along the end boards. Each player receives a double-minor penalty for roughing.
Heavyweight battle between Krug and Desharnais.
Question: Does Chara outweigh both of them combined? pic.twitter.com/NYECiHedEy
— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 1, 2016
First Period, 1:14, 1-0 Montreal: Habs center David Desharnais strikes first by jamming a loose puck past B’s goalie Tuukka Rask.
https://twitter.com/myregularface/status/682993798729838593
1:32 p.m.: The puck has been dropped, and we’re underway!
1:30 p.m.: Anthems are over.
Banner day. pic.twitter.com/w4M6pnpihE
— Kevin Paul Dupont (@GlobeKPD) January 1, 2016
Star Wars music is playing in a football arena as muskets are fired before a hockey game.
Classic! pic.twitter.com/fbkPgRtqzn— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 1, 2016
🇨🇦 Intros ✔️
🐻 Intros ✔️
🇨🇦 Anthem ✔️
🇺🇸 Anthem ✔️
✈️ Flyover ✔️@NHL #WinterClassic starts NOW. pic.twitter.com/BkWD2UIFcY— Gillette Stadium (@GilletteStadium) January 1, 2016
1:22 p.m.: Claude Julien has his own Bill Belichick-inspired hoodie!
Keep an eye out for for Coach's special attire on the bench. #NHLBruins #WinterClassic pic.twitter.com/msxsaiW0gZ
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 1, 2016
1:05 p.m.: Liam is here!
We have our good luck charm 👍 #NHLBruins #WinterClassic pic.twitter.com/kzmouTy73d
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 1, 2016
1 p.m.: Canadiens goalie Mike Condon is a Massachusetts native and New England Patriots fan.
https://twitter.com/alex_prewitt/status/682984304289431552
12:56 p.m.: Loui Eriksson is wearing an “A” on his B’s sweater today with Chris Kelly, David Krejci and Brad Marchand all out of the lineup.
12:50 p.m.: Warmups have begun.
Condon and Rask lead Habs, Bruins onto Gillette ice for warmup. pic.twitter.com/mtX1Zh2z2z
— Mick Colageo (@MickColageo) January 1, 2016
12:30 p.m. ET: The NHL and Gillette Stadium did a fantastic job turning this place into a quality hockey venue.
Fantastic scene at Gillette. #WinterClassic pic.twitter.com/NIFveIdeVN
— Nicholas W. Goss (@NickGossNBCSB) January 1, 2016
12:15 p.m. ET: Before puck drop, let’s go over a few game notes.
— First place is on the line in the 2016 NHL Winter Classic. The winner will leapfrog the Florida Panthers. With a win, the Canadiens would overtake them by a single point, while the Bruins would move into first because of the regulation and overtime wins (ROW) tiebreaker edge over Florida.
— Road teams are 11-3-1 in outdoor games. The Bruins are one of just two teams — the other is the Washington Capitals from last season — to win the Winter Classic as the home team.
— Wes McCauley is one of the two referees. He also worked the 2013 and 2014 Stanley Cup Finals.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@NickGossNESN
