The Winter Classic didn’t go according to plan for the Boston Bruins, but their rematch against the Montreal Canadiens was a different story.
The Bruins exacted some revenge Tuesday night at Bell Centre with their 4-1 win over their Atlantic Division rival.
Let’s take a look at how the B’s-Habs game unfolded:
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
David Pastrnak built a commanding two-score lead for Boston with his goal at the 12:14 mark of the third period.
Pastrnak, who was playing in his first game after missing three straight contests with an upper-body injury, got the puck off a Mike Condon clearing attempt, and he he lit the lamp with an impressive wraparound goal, making it 3-1 Bruins with under eight minutes remaining in the game.
Brad Marchand added an empty-netter in the closing minutes to put an exclamation point on the win.
TALBOT DOES IT ALL
Max Talbot had a golden opportunity on a breakaway late in the first period, but Condon made an even better save.
However, the Canadiens weren’t out of danger yet. Andrei Markov quickly threw away Condon’s save with a bad turnover right back to Talbot, who made sure to finish this time, giving Boston a 1-0 lead. Condon got a piece of Talbot’s wrist shot with his glove, but not enough.
TWO U’s, TWO K’s, ONE GREAT PERIOD
Montreal got on the board in the second period thanks to a great set up by P.K. Subban to Mark Barberio, who scored on a wide-open net. But it could have been a lot worse.
Tuukka Rask came up with multiple big saves, many of which came on point-blank opportunities. The Canadiens’ best chance to take their first lead of the game came on a Torrey Mitchell breakaway, but Rask swatted it away with his glove. Rask ended up making 15 saves on 16 shots in the frame.
HISTORIC GOAL
Rask’s excellent goaltending gave the Bruins a chance to regain the lead before the second intermission, which they took full advantage of.
Pastrnak sent the puck toward Condon, but it ended up going behind the net. Patrice Bergeron was there to scoop it up, though, and he powered it under a diving Condon, giving Boston a 2-1 lead at the second break.
But that wasn’t the only significant part of the goal. Bergeron also passed Cam Neely for sole possession of ninth place on the Bruins’ all-time scoring list, with 591 points.
LINEUP NOTES
David Krejci missed his 10th straight game with an upper-body injury, but he did practice with the team on Monday, signaling a a possible return to the ice soon.
UP NEXT
The Bruins return to TD Garden on Thursday for a matchup against the Vancouver Canucks. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Eric Bolte/USA TODAY Sports Images
