The Montreal Canadiens breezed to 4-1 win over the Bruins at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night.
It only took 3:11 for tempers to start to flare at the Bell Centre. Johnny Boychuk tried to lay an open ice hit on P.K. Subban (and missed). This drew the ire of minor league muscle call-up Ryan White. White jumped in to challenge Boychuk and the two engaged in a long scrap. Both fighters were giving 5 for fighting, while White was tagged with an extra 2 minutes for instigating and a 10 minute misconduct.
Lars Eller gave the Canadiens a 1-0 lead 8:21 into the game after backhanding a loose puck past Tuukka Rask from the top of the crease after a Paul Mara shot from the point that never made it to Rask. The goal was Eller's 6th of the season.
Lars Eller's second goal of the game extended the Habs lead to 2-0 with 2:23 left in the opening period. The Bruins turned over the puck in their zone before Travis Moen gained control and sent a backhand pass deeper in the zone to Travis Eller all alone at the right circle. Eller made a move on Rask, pulled the puck back to the forehand and placed it past Rask for the second time tonight.
Montreal extended their lead to 3-0 7:15 into the middle period with a power play goal from Brian Gionta. Gionta's shot trickled through the pads of Rask. Several Bruins tried to locate the puck and keep it out as a scrum of Habs attempted to jam the puck past the goal line. The puck ended up crossing the line to give Gionta his 24th goal of the season.
Another Montreal power play goal with 4:51 remaining in the second period created a 4-0 edge for Habs. James Wisniewski had plenty of time and space to uncork a hard slapper from the top of the circle that found its way pastTuukka Rask for his 8th tally of the '10-'11 campaign.
A scary moment happened late in the second period when Zdeno Chara's late ride-off of Max Pacioretty sent him flying head first into glass divider between the two player benches. Pacrioretty went into the stanchion awkwardly and remained motionless on the ice for several minutes before being carted off on a stretcher. At the time of publish, the word out of Montreal was that Max Pacioretty was transported to a Montreal area hospital. The report originating from the Canadiens media relations staff is that Pacioretty was conscious and able to move all four limbs. Zdeno Chara was given a 5-minute major for interference and a game misconduct for the hit. The officials decided to send both teams to the dressing rooms early for the second intermission after the incident. The remaining 15.8 seconds were played after the break before the start of the third period.
Milan Lucic finally put the Bruins on the board 13:21 into the third period. David Krejci gained the offensive zone and slid a cross ice pass to Lucic entering the zone on the left wing. Lucic unloaded a laser snap shot in stride from the top of the left circle that sailed past the glove of Carey Price for his team-leading 29th goal of the season.
Notes:
- The outcome of Chara's hit on Pacioretty seemed to be mostly a result of the location of the ice were it occurred, however it was still interference and a dangerous hit. Things happen fast on the ice, but Chara needs to be aware of the situation and his surroundings.
- It must be extremely difficult to get back into the game after seeing a player leave the ice the way that Pacioretty did. I think the officials did the smart thing by sending the teams to the room early.
- Brad Marchand missed on a penalty shot attempt just over 4 minutes into the third period.
- The Bruins held a 32-19 edge in face-offs.
- The Canadiens blocked 35 shots tonight. The B's blocked just 9.
- The Bruins outshot their opponents 31-26.
- Brad Marchand called out the Canadiens prior to tonight's game for the way they conduct themselves on the ice:
- The Bruins will host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
- For more on tonight's game from a Habs fan perspective, head over to Habs Eyes On The Prize