The Bruins got back in the win column Monday with a convincing victory over their Original Six rival.
Boston got to Montreal early and kept it off the board, coming away with a 4-0 win over the Canadiens on Monday night at Bell Centre. Both the offense and defense were clicking as the B’s had three players with two points, outshot the Habs 35-22 and stonewalled them on their three power play opportunities.
After the game, head coach Bruce Cassidy was pleased with his team’s overall performance after tough losses against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres.
“We looked at our forecheck from the other night.” Cassidy said as seen on NESN’s “Bruins Overtime Live.” “… And defensive zone coverage I think with Buffalo was a few teaching moments, so we used that to motivate us tonight to get back to being hard to play against.”
Part of being “hard to play against”, Cassidy noted, was the fact Boston turned its focus to having a strong opening period.
“We’ve been very good in back-to-backs, we were able to channel our energy into the first period,” he said. “I think that’s another focus. Like, ‘look let’s not be on our heels, let’s not sit around see what happens. Let’s determine the outcome.'”
A strong first period determined the momentum for the rest of the game for the B’s, and it paid off with a big win, something Cassidy thoroughly enjoyed, especially against the Canadiens.
“It is.” Cassidy said when asked if it’s fun to win in Montreal. “It’s more fun Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada, but I’ll take it any day of the week.”
The win also moved the Black and Gold into fourth place in the Atlantic Division.
Here are some other notes from Monday’s Bruins-Canadiens game:
— Torey Krug notched his 199th career assist on Brad Marchand’s power play goal. He now is tied with Mike O’Connell for most helpers by a U.S.-born player in team history.
— David Krejci extended his point streak to seven games when he scored his sixth goal of the season in the third period.
— Colby Cave tallied his first career goal in the middle frame.
— The B’s lead the season series against its rival 2-1. The two teams will meet one more time in the regular season Jan. 14.
