An all-time franchise great with no signs of slowing down, the Bruins’ Brad Marchand decided to move up the team record books in delightful fashion Monday night in Montreal.
Actually, if anything, it was perfectly fitting fashion for Boston’s No. 63.
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Entering play deadlocked with his current boss, Cam Neely, for sixth on the club’s all-time goals list, the 5-foot-9 Marchand scored two of the most Marchand-esque goals you’ll ever see and helped earn the B’s a big two points.
To break out of the tie and into sole possession of the No. 6 spot, Marchand nearly battled a puck out of the air and through Jake Allen, only to miss it ever so slightly and crash right into the boards. But Marchand got right back up, drove to the front of the net, and then shifted slightly to the left, where he received a sweet dish from Erik Haula for a wide-open look at the cage.
But as good as that tally was in terms of displaying Marchand’s compete, it was the second goal that stole the show.
About 30 minutes after a careless Marchand pass sparked the Canadiens for a shorthanded 2-on-0 that gave them the lead, and after Connor Clifton knotted things up for Boston late, a sudden stop from Haula opened a lane up for a charging Marchand in overtime. And fed right on the tape, Marchand wasted no time making Allen look downright silly.
What a finish from Brad Marchand for the OT winner.
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) March 22, 2022
Bruins beat Montreal, 3-2. pic.twitter.com/qqpv4fwnep
Myyyyyyyyy goodness.
Who else but Marchand?
Here are some other thoughts and notes from a 3-2 overtime win over the Habs…
Mar 21, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Boston Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton (75) scores a goal against Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen (34) during the third period at the Bell Centre. (Eric Bolte/USA TODAY Sports)
Connor Clifton isn’t ready to take a seat
Think the B’s defense hears Hampus Lindholm’s footsteps coming?
With Lindholm still en route to Boston from Anaheim, and with Josh Brown making his way from Ottawa to Boston as well, the internal competition for minutes on the backend is only going to intensify. And one player trying to stake his claim to his spot in the Boston lineup, Connor Clifton, seriously upped his game for the B’s on Monday night.
On the board with the secondary helper on Brad Marchand’s first-period marker, some good old fashioned #CliffyHockey saw the 5-foot-11, 191-pound defender activated into the attacking zone and bury the game-tying goal through Jake Allen. It was Clifton’s first goal since Dec. 11, and the cherry on top of a night that included one block and four shots on goal.
Clifton has actually stepped up in a big way since Urho Vaakanainen went down back in February, and has had some monster efforts in a role that requires an awful lot of grunt work and heavy lifting. His road game against the Golden Knights sticks out as a strong one, along with a home-ice win over the Avalanche.
But Clifton isn’t the only one trying to show that he doesn’t deserve to lose any minutes, as Mike Reilly finished Monday’s victory over Montreal with four hits to his name. It was his most since Nov. 21 against the Flames.
This can only mean good things for the Bruins ahead of the stretch run.
Mar 21, 2022; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand (63) celebrates with teammates including forwards Erik Haula (56) and Jake DeBrusk (74) after scoring a goal against Montreal Canadiens goalie Jake Allen (34) during the first period at the Bell Centre. (Eric Bolte/USA TODAY Sports)
The Bruins continue to hammer pucks on goal
If it feels like the Bruins have had a crapload of 40-shot efforts this year, it’s because they have.
Monday’s 46-shot barrage on the Canadiens’ Jake Allen made it 18 efforts of at least 40 shots for the Bruins this year. That’s the third-most in the NHL this year, trailing just the Flames (19) and Panthers (20). That’s good company to be this year.
Boston’s record in those 18 games? 13-5-0. So, at least they’re not wasting ’em.
MONTREAL, QC – MARCH 21: The Boston Bruins celebrate their overtime victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on March 21, 2022 in Montreal, Canada. (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
The Junk Drawer
- Monday marked the B’s first time in Montreal since Nov. 26, 2019. Their last trip featured an 8-1 win for the Bruins, which was actually the B’s second-highest margin of victory on Montreal ice, beaten only by a eight-goal road victory over the Canadiens in Jan. 1974 and another one in Nov. 1947. Their worst loss in Montreal? A 13-4 loss in Nov. 1943.
- This is a straight-up dreadful Montreal team. Just an unbelievably awful club. To the point where watching them feels like a chore. As just a hockey fan, last night’s game had to be one of the worst viewing experiences of the season. Other teams I’ve found require legitimate effort to watch this season: The Kraken, Coyotes, Senators, and Sharks. Perhaps their places in the standings explain that, but I’m really hoping that NHL teams don’t borrow a page from the MLB’s playbook and have half a dozen or so teams that just outright poop the bed for multiple seasons in the name of draft pick pile-ups. I get being a rebuilding team, but some of these teams are taking it to the next level and it’s tough to watch.
- A random Hab: Mike Komisarek. Remember how badly Milan Lucic wanted to kill this guy every time they were on the ice at the same time? It was a sideshow in all the right ways, and Komisarek always came back for more. For some reason.
- John Moore’s Anaheim tenure came to an end after just two days Monday, as the Ducks sent his contract to Vegas in a deal that’s now being disputed, as it allegedly violated Evgenii Dadonov’s trade protection rights. Either way, the word with Moore is that his season is over and that he will not report to Vegas. Moore, who will reportedly stay in Boston and be a Duck or Golden Knight in paycheck only, had not played in a game with the P-Bruins since Jan. 28. Moore has another year at $2.75 million left on his deal.
