Bruins vs. Canadiens recap: 17 Minutes and all ye are fallen, Boston loses 4-3

On the one hand: it was definitely awesome to see Chara fight. Awesome to see him sticking up for a teammate, laying the beatdown on Alexei Emelin after Emelin laid a crosscheck on Tyler Seguin so hard that he broke his stick.

On the other hand: it's never good to lose your best defenseman for the better part of a period. So where's the balance? Does one game matter in the long run in favor of justice being done, or should the Bruins have allowed the Habs to yet again get away with making a dirty play that wasn't called?

I don't know.

Pluses:

+ Dougie Hamilton's second goal of the season! Not only was he perfectly positioned to send that goal home, but his celebration after was awesome. Sometimes you forget that he's only 19, playing his 17th game in the NHL - and sometimes it's glaringly obvious. Great to have the glaring obviousness be for a good reason rather than a bad one this time.

+ Brad Marchand is having the season of his life right now. He assisted on all three Bruins goals, and was a factor in nearly every scoring chance they had tonight - and he wasn't afraid, as always, to show PK Subban exactly how he felt after Subban laid a big hit on him. Some may hate the "Little Ball of Hate" moniker, but it really is pretty fitting for Marchand these days, like it or not.

+ The Bruins still managed to outshoot the Habs 10-4 in the third period. That's....not awful.

+ Despite everything, that game was incredibly fun to watch. There is no rivalry like this rivalry, and anyone who says otherwise is a moron.

Minuses:

- Although it was a fun scrap to watch, trading Milan Lucic for Brandon Prust doesn't need to happen. That's an advantage for Montreal every way you look at it.

- The Bruins are now 9 for 61 on the power play and 72 for 79 on the PK. No PPGs tonight, one PPG allowed. Not their best showing.

- Brendan Gallagher is going to be a pain in our collective asses for years to come, isn't he.

- The Bruins had a big job to do when Chara was out and plain and simple: they didn't do it. The defense behind Big Z right now is incredibly questionable - what happens if Chara gets hurt, or is out for any significant period of time this year? Tonight's lapse should give the Bruins' staff significant pause when considering where to upgrade this team at the deadline.