The Boston Bruins took down the host Montreal Canadiens 5-3 on Sunday, which marked the second leg of a back-to-back.
Boston improved to 49-25-5 on the season while Montreal fell to 20-49-11.
You can check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Despite not having David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm on the second night of a back-to-back, the Bruins still proved to be the superior team over the Canadiens.
Boston took a 1-0 lead 4:04 into the game on Patrice Bergeron's opening score and never looked back. The Bruins were just flat out better on Sunday, as the records of both teams really showed.
Bruins fans probably would have liked to see Boston finish stronger but it faced plenty of adversity to come away with a win. The B's beat the Rangers on Saturday, traveled from Boston to Montreal through the night and then came out sharp enough to beat the Canadiens in a game that was not very competitive until the third period.
The Black and Gold almost fell for the trap game by letting off the gas with too much time on the clock. But the Canadiens cutting the lead to 4-3 in the third appeared to provide new life for a Bruins team that had just enough to close it out.
Bergeron scored first and last, with an empty-net goal to secure the win in the waning seconds.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Erik Haula scored two goals Sunday. The first was quite strange, as he passed the puck on a penalty shot before turning back, grabbing the puck and firing a shot past Monreal goalie Sam Montembeault. Both scores gave the Bruins two-point leads.
-- Bergeron opened the scoring by netting the 396th goal of his career, giving the veteran the fourth-most goals in Bruins history, passing Ray Bourque.
-- Charlie McAvoy was the best defender on the ice for the Bruins. Not only did McAvoy score a pivotal goal of his own but he also had a four plus-minus, the highest on the team.
WAGER WATCH
Oddsmakers set Bergeron as the first scorer at +1200 on DraftKings Sportsbook. A $100 bet would have paid out $1,300 as the center gave the Bruins a lead just four minutes into the game.
UP NEXT ON NESN
The Bruins will head back to Boston to take on the Florida Panthers at TD Garden on Tuesday with puck drop set for 7 p.m. ET. Pregame coverage starts at 6 p.m. ET on NESN.
