Bruins @ Canadiens, 04/24/22

  Following an incredible tribute for the Montreal legend Guy Lafleur, with a standing ovation that went on for well over ten minutes, the Bruins and the Canadiens underwent their fourth and final matchup for the season.   Boston completed the season sweep against Montreal with a final score of 5-3.

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Marc McLaughlin and Mike Reilly returned to the line up with David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm being given the night off in the name of rest.  The latter two made their return last game in Boston’s 3-1 victory over potential - though unlikely - first round matchups the New York Rangers, with Pastrnak scoring the opening goal and Lindholm leading all Bruins players in time-on-ice with 24:41 played.  Boston’s first power play opportunity arose just over six minutes into the game as Joel Edmundson was called for tripping Conor Clifton.  Boston entered Sunday night’s game scoreless on their previous thirty-two power plays spanning ten games.  The streak would go to thirty-three as the Bruins were unable to generate any meaningful opportunities, while also giving up two offensive zone rushes for Montreal.  

Brad Marchand’s brilliance flashed again, leading to Boston’s first goal.  Executing a vintage #63 spin move to collect and protect the puck off the boards, he then crashed towards the net while fighting off Montreal defenseman Jeff Petry who was virtually glued to him.  The puck came loose along the boards behind the net, Marchand then stole a pass and fed the puck to Jake Debrusk whose rebound was cashed in by Patrice Bergeron.  

A series of strange events led to Boston’s second goal of the game.  Erik Haula was able to steal the puck from Montreal on the Boston blue line, and a phantom hooking call against Mike Hoffman led to a penalty shot being awarded to Haula as he bolted towards the Montreal net.  While taking the penalty shot, Haula moved towards the puck and then skated straight past it without making contact - I hope you’re taking notes, Marchand.  Haula skated back, collected the puck one handed, and proceeded to score on the befuddled Montreal goaltender Sam Montembeault, giving Boston a 2-0 lead.

More classic Boston/Montreal excitement occurred as Brad Marchand took exception to Jeff Petry’s booming check on Patrice Bergeron by tackling him to the ice; Marchand was assessed a roughing penalty for the play.  As the whistle blew to end the period, Trent Frederic was handed a misconduct penalty for approaching Petry and giving him a few bumps, presumably expressing his displeasure with the brutal - yet perfectly legal - hit on captain Patrice Bergeron.  It was only a few games ago that Frederic was benched and scratched for taking a needless penalty at a critical juncture of the game.  On one hand, it’s good to see he’s still willing to stick up for his teammates.  On the other hand, it’s concerning to see him take another penalty in a situation where the causal actions weren’t exactly required.  

Montreal began the second period on an abbreviated 5-on-3 power play; Marchand’s penalty was successfully killed but Montreal was able to score before the end of Frederic’s misconduct penalty expired.  Josh Anderson’s backhand shot that never left the ice slid under the pad of the sprawling Jeremy Swayman, reducing Boston’s lead to one.  Much preferring the two goal lead, Erik Haula struck again, finishing a beautiful pass from Tomas Nosek on an odd man rush.  In the blink of an eye Boston found themselves down two skaters once again, giving Montreal a 4-on-3 power play for eighty-nine seconds.  A few good clears - including one nearly nullified by the broken stick of Charlie Coyle - and some saves under pressure by Swayman were good enough to hold off the Montreal offense for the duration of Boston’s shorthanded time.  

Brad Marchand continued to pester Montreal throughout the period, and was also penalized for high sticking Josh Anderson - who in turn was dealt a cross-checking penalty for retaliating on Marchand.  The two shared some thoughts while seated in the penalty box.  A high-brow meeting of the minds, no doubt.  With four seconds remaining on the matching penalties, Charlie McAvoy’s wrist shot found the back of the net for Boston’s fourth goal of the game, and the young defenseman’s tenth of the season.  Bonafide.  

Shortly into the third period, Marc McLaughlin lofted the puck over the boards, handing Montreal a power play opportunity that did not go to waste.  Two seconds into the power play Mike Hoffman’s bomb went post and in, bringing the score to 4-2 Boston.  Less than four minutes later, Nick Suzuki restored even more confidence and momentum for Montreal as his shot whistled past Jeremy Swayman, once again reducing Boston’s lead to one.  Following these two slip ups, Boston’s defense tightened up well enough to keep Montreal scoreless for the rest of the game; and with Patrice Bergeron’s empty net goal being the final nail in Montreal’s coffin, the Boston Bruins defeated the Canadiens 5-3.

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I wouldn’t necessarily say this was a must win, but it was certainly a should absolutely win kind of game.  Montreal sank to the bottom of the Atlantic early on in the season and has rested there since.  They entered Sunday night on a nine game losing streak, going 1-9-0 in their previous ten.  Boston, while still admittedly shaky at times, is an entirely better hockey team than Montreal this season.  There is no good reason for Boston to lose to such a team at this time of year - especially when it’s the Habs.  So it was reassuring for several reasons to see Boston hold onto their lead despite an energized third period from the Canadiens’ offense.  

There are now only three games remaining in the regular season for Boston.  Two are against Toronto and Florida, who are technically still a potential first round matchup for the Bruins, and one is against the Buffalo Sabres.  And while one would hope to see a more refined, disciplined, and offensively dangerous Boston Bruins team in all three of these matchups, I have my eye mostly focused on the Florida game.  Florida is the opposite of Montreal.  They are comically good at winning hockey games.  If Florida lost their three remaining games, they would still end their season with the ninth best regular season of all time.  They are incredibly fast, score an absurd amount of goals, and have all the makings of a Cup winning team.  Boston’s matchup against the Panthers is the one I think will be most indicative of the Bruins’ quality of play going into the first round.  Expect Boston to throw everything they have at Florida, as the Bruins look to test their edge against the best team in hockey, mere days before the real games start.