BOSTON — The Boston Bruins have found new life under interim head coach Bruce Cassidy.
The B’s won their third consecutive game Sunday night with a convincing 4-0 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at TD Garden. Boston now is 3-0-0 since Cassidy was named interim bench boss on Tuesday.
The Bruins are tied with the Ottawa Senators for second place in the Atlantic Division, although the Original Six club has played five more games than the Sens.
Boston improves to 29-23-6 with Sunday’s win, while Montreal drops to 31-19-8.
Here’s how it all went down.
EARLY PHYSICALITY
Bruins defenseman Torey Krug and Habs winger Andrew Shaw fought just 58 seconds into the first period.
It wasn’t the only game Sunday night to feature a first-period bout. There were two fights in the first 45 seconds of the Nashville Predators-Dallas Stars tilt. Watch them here.
FIRST STRIKE
B’s defenseman Adam McQuaid opened the scoring at 8:57 of the first period. It was his second goal of the season, and it was assisted by Krug and recent call-up Peter Cehlarik (his first career NHL point).
Montreal’s defense on the goal was subpar, to say the least.
PRETTY GOALS
The Bruins scored a pair of highlight-worthy goals in the second period. First, B’s defenseman Zdeno Chara showed off his moves with a sweet dangle and a nice shot that beat Canadiens goalie Carey Price.
Later in the frame, David Krejci scored his 14th goal of the season on a tic-tac-toe passing sequence during a Bruins power play.
Boston led 3-0 entering the second intermission.
KEEP ATTACKING
The Bruins widened their lead to 4-0 when Frank Vatrano scored his eighth goal of the season five minutes into the third period. Price couldn’t get back on his skates and Vatrano found the open net.
SOLID IN NET
Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, who has struggled against Montreal throughout his career with a 6-15-3 record and a .912 save percentage, played quite well Sunday. He earned a 25-save shutout for his 27th win of the campaign.
UP NEXT
The Bruins begin a four-game road trip next Sunday night in San Jose against the Sharks. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
