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Recap: Third-period flurry leads Bruins to a 3-1 win over the Canadiens

Well, the ending certainly was good!

By Dan.Ryan
Montreal Canadiens v Boston Bruins Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

The Habs got off to a great start, as Joel Armia got a lucky bounce to beat Tuukka Rask 2 minutes into the game. 1-0 Canadiens.

After a frustrating stretch over the rest of the first and second periods, who but David Pastrnak gets the Bruins on the board with the most “that was a laser” laser you’ll ever see. 1-1 tie.

David Backes?!?!?!?! In his first game back from a stretch on the shelf, Backes finds paydirt in Patrice Bergeron’s bumper position on the PP to make it 2-1 Bruins.

Jake DeBrusk adds an insurance goal on a great initial play by Connor Clifton then a great give-and-go with Charlie Coyle. 3-1 Bruins.

That was it! Down 1-0 going into the third, the Bruins finish with a 3-1 win. NOT BAD. 8 consecutive losses for Montreal.

Game notes

  • This was an odd game. You could tell the Bruins were getting frustrated, as there were multiple instances of slammed sticks, slammed bench doors, etc. Montreal did a good job stifling and limiting good scoring chances for the Bruins, until, you know, they didn’t.
  • David Backes’ goal is a wonderful feel-good story. First game back from injury for a guy who’s had a tough go of it lately, and he scores the game-winner on the power play. Beautiful.
  • All 3 goals that beat Carey Price were up high. I don’t think the Bruins were going to school on him there, as they were bang-bang plays, but it was interesting.
  • The slapshot goal by Pastrnak screamed “this is an f-you goal.” Pastrnak unleashed some anger on that shot, and the cathartic arms-to-the-ceiling celebration that followed was great. If nothing else, that showed how Pastrnak doesn’t just hope to score every night, he expects to score.
  • Good game for Tuukka Rask, who was victimized by a goofy deflection early but made some big stops to keep the game 1-0.
  • Tough crowd at the Garden tonight. There were a bunch of Habs fans there, likely ones who made the trek down for the weekend. However, with the weather, it was tough for anyone to travel too far in Massachusetts for this game. Still, the ones that made the trip left happy...unless they were wearing Habs colors.