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.
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.
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.
Third Period, 10:00, 4-1 Montreal: A great crowd at Gillette.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Second Period, 16:10, 2-0 Montreal: B’s head coach Claude Julien has made some changes to his top two lines.
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.
Second Period, 11:45, 2-0 Montreal: Here’s an injury update for the Canadiens as the Bruins go on another power play.
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.
Second Period, 5:30, 2-0 Montreal: Fantastic elbow save from Rask.
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.
Second Period, 0:01, 1-0 Montreal: Play has resumed!
First Intermission, 1-0 Montreal
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.
First Period, 16:30, 1-0 Montreal: Bruins winger Matt Beleskey pummels Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov.
First Period, 15:00, 1-0 Montreal: The Habs are dominating play so far.
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.
First Period, 1:14, 1-0 Montreal: Habs center David Desharnais strikes first by jamming a loose puck past B’s goalie Tuukka Rask.
1:32 p.m.: The puck has been dropped, and we’re underway!
1:30 p.m.: Anthems are over.
1:22 p.m.: Claude Julien has his own Bill Belichick-inspired hoodie!
1:05 p.m.: Liam is here!
1 p.m.: Canadiens goalie Mike Condon is a Massachusetts native and New England Patriots fan.
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.
12:30 p.m. ET: The NHL and Gillette Stadium did a fantastic job turning this place into a quality hockey venue.
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
