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Bruins get all they can handle from Canadiens, but Bergeron’s late goal seals win

Matt Dolloff January 24th
MONTREAL, CANADA - JANUARY 24: Taylor Hall #71 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his goal with teammates David Pastrnak #88 and Hampus Lindholm #27 during the second period of the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on January 24, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

MONTREAL, CANADA – JANUARY 24: Taylor Hall #71 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his goal with teammates David Pastrnak #88 and Hampus Lindholm #27 during the second period of the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on January 24, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Patrice Bergeron scored with just 2:55 left in regulation to give the Bruins a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in an unexpected thriller at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night.

Bergeron made his own game-winner happen with a win at the faceoff dot over Nick Suzuki, which fed the puck directly to David Pastrnak for a quick shot attempt. Brad Marchand got stopped trying to gain the puck, but it bounced to a streaking Bergeron, who snapped it straight ahead and through an open seam into the net.

Goaltender Sam Montembault (26 saves) and the significantly shorthanded Canadiens gave the Bruins all they could handle in this one, but in the end, it was the B’s who came out on top and improved to a downright ridiculous 38-5-4 on the season.

  • The teams played to a stalemate in the first period. The Bruins held an 11-7 advantage in shots on goal, and found the net-front area with more consistency, resulting in a 5-2 edge in high-danger scoring chances. Boston also got off to a 4-1 shot advantage to start the second period.

    But that’s when the Habs struck first. Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort delivered a late hit to Nick Suzuki, which led to a tussle with Michael Pezzetta and offsetting interference penalties, but Forbort ended up getting two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct after the dust settled. Montreal took full advantage of the power play, as Kirby Dach buried a one-timer off a fortuitous bounce from the front of the net directly to him.

  • Taylor Hall finally broke the seal for the Bruins just 5:01 later, gathering a loose puck on the rebound and flipping it past a sprawled Montembault on a power play to make it 1-1. David Pastrnak’s initial shot appeared intended to feed to Patrice Bergeron in the slot for a tip, but instead the puck deflected off the skate of Canadiens defenseman David Savard and to Hall’s area, where he cleaned out the garbage.

    The goal ended a scoreless drought of 16 consecutive games for Hall. The veteran winger fired 25 pucks on net to no avail during that span. He’s now up to 14 goals and 31 points through 47 games.

    Boston headed to the locker room at the second intermission with a 23-14 shots advantage.

  • In a reversal of fortunes, the Bruins were able to break the tie about midway through the third period, despite the Canadiens getting off to a 3-1 start in shots. It was the “Czech Line” of Pavel Zacha-David Krejci-Pastrnak that put the B’s ahead, after Pastrnak rotated to the high slot then let it rip, then Krejci tipped it past Montembault to make it 2-1.

    Krejci has a goal and seven assists in his last five games. Pastrnak has four goals and six assists. Zacha has three goals and three assists.

  • However, the Canadiens were able to get it right back to even just 1:46 later, and again off the stick of Dach. Defenseman Justin Barron’s shot got through to Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, who couldn’t quite handle the rebound, and Dach pounced on the loose puck to flip it home, in a similar sequence to the Hall goal.

    But the tying goal only set the stage for Bergeron’s eventual game-winner, and Pastrnak’s empty-netter with 48 seconds left that put it away for good.

  • Up Next: The Bruins have kicked off an extended Eastern Conference road trip, and the opponents only get tougher from here. Next, they head to Tampa to play the Lightning on Thursday night at Amalie Arena.

    Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.

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