BOSTON — The Montreal Canadiens maintained their lead atop the Atlantic division with a 4-2 win over the rival Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday night.
The Habs led 2-0 through 40 minutes, and they staved off a Bruins comeback in the third period to secure the victory.
Montreal improves to 4-0-1, while Boston falls to 3-2-0.
Here’s a recap of Bruins-Habs.
TRAILING AGAIN
The Bruins have trailed 1-0 in every game this season. It happened Saturday when Habs forward Brendan Gallagher opened the scoring at 11:41 of the second period.
The Bruins mounted comeback wins in three of the previous four games, but the Canadiens controlled too much puck possession for the B’s to make it four out of five.
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Habs goaltender Carey Price beat the Bruins once again with a 19-save performance. He entered this game with a 22-8-3 record and a .923 save percentage in 34 career games against Boston. Price has won both of his starts after making his season debut Thursday following a severe bout with the flu.
POWER PLAY IMPROVEMENT?
The Bruins entered the game with one power-play goal on 14 opportunities through their first five games, and they scored another in the third period when Ryan Spooner beat Price glove side.
However, less than a minute before Spooner’s goal, Canadiens forward Paul Byron scored a shorthanded tally on a breakaway.
The B’s also failed to score on a four-minute power play in the first period, and a two-minute power play to end the third period (55 seconds of it was a 6-on-3 advantage).
Boston now is 2 for 20 with the man advantage this season.
MOORE GOALS
Dominic Moore scored his second goal of the season with a beautiful shot that beat Price upstairs. The goal trimmed Montreal’s lead to 2-1 with 14:26 left in the third period. The goal was made possible by a great play along the boards in the defensive zone by Noel Acciari to start the breakout.
HITTING THE NET
The Bruins led the Canadiens with a 53-50 advantage in shot attempts, but the Habs led the shots on goal tally 29-21. Sixteen of those Bruins shot attempts missed the net and 17 were blocked. The third line of Matt Beleskey, Riley Nash and Jimmy Hayes combined for just one shot on goal.
It’s hard to beat the best goalie in the league when you don’t put many shots on net.
UP NEXT
The Bruins’ homestand continues Tuesday with a matchup against the Minnesota Wild at 7 p.m. ET. It’s the Wild’s only trip to TD Garden this season.
Thumbnail photo via Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports Images. Video via Chris Abraham of SB Nation
