BOSTON — The Boston Bruins welcomed in the Montreal Canadiens to TD Garden for the first and only time this season and earned a hard-fought 4-2 win Thursday night.
The Bruins improved their NHL-best record to 55-11-5 while the lowly Canadiens dropped to 28-38-6.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Just seeing the sweaters of the rival Canadiens seemed to make the Bruins’ blood boil.
Boston didn’t back down from the Canadiens physical play as the Bruins doled out some punishment, including Brad Marchand landing some haymakers on Rem Pitlick after the Montreal forward took out Patrice Bergeron.
But the Bruins sometimes couldn’t keep that physical nature in check, evidenced by the seven penalties they took through the first two periods, with the infractions proving costly. A.J. Greer got a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking Mike Hoffman in the face, which led to a Canadiens power-play goal. A hold by Garnet Hathaway in the second period led to another man-advantage tally by Montreal to keep them in the game.
The Canadiens definitely brought out a different side in the Bruins, who despite all their skill can play a tough brand of hockey. And they proved they can win that way, too.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Tyler Bertuzzi found the back of the net for the first time in his Bruins career as he got some puck luck to beat Canadiens goalie Jake Allen. Bertuzzi also added an assist to give him his first multi-point game with the Bruins as well.
— David Pastrnak also recorded a two-point outing. The Bruins star netted his career-high 49th goal of the season and provided a helper on David Krejci’s third-period tally which gave Boston a much-needed cushion.
— Jeremy Swayman allowed the two power-play goals but also made some stellar stops to keep the Bruins on top. He registered 30 saves to improve his record to 19-6-4.
WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds of Jake DeBrusk scoring at +160. He tallied his 24th goal of the season on a breakaway in the opening frame. A $100 wager on the prop bet would have netted a total of $260.
UP NEXT
The Bruins look to extend their winning streak to six games Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
