Bruins Win 55th Game, Second-Most in Team History

BOSTON - At this point of the season, with the lead they have in the standings and the relentless grind of the schedule, the Bruins easily could have stumbled into a tailspin as they hit a two-game skid earlier this month.
That kind of approach, however, just isn't in the nature of this Black & Gold club.
Boston has rebounded from that brief malaise with five consecutive victories, including a 4-2 win over the rival Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at TD Garden behind goals from Tyler Bertuzzi, Jake DeBrusk, David Pastrnak, and David Krejci.

The win was Boston's 55th of the season, which ranks as the second-most in club history. The all-time wins mark is 57 set by the 1970-71 team.
"Happy that we got the two points," said coach Jim Montgomery. "It's a tough league to win in. I know we've won a lot this year, but it really is. With the schedule as challenging as it is right now - we're playing four games a week, and it's four in six nights consecutively for five weeks - we're not going to have the most energy we usually do have.
"I don't think we skated very well tonight, but it's understandable at times. You've got to give credit to those guys. We find a way to win hockey games. It's not an easy league to win in and we find ways to do it. That's the positive side of things."

The Rivalry Resumes

While it was just the second meeting of the season between the Bruins and Canadiens, there was no shortage of animosity between the two rivals. The fireworks began in the early going when Montreal's Rem Pitlick delivered a late and high hit on Patrice Bergeron that knocked the Bruins' captain to the ice behind the Canadiens' net midway through the first period.
Brad Marchand did not take kindly to the shot from the Canadiens forward and quickly engaged him, landing a few jabs as he tackled 5-foot-11, 186-pounder to the ice. Marchand was assessed a double-minor for roughing, while Pitlick received a two-minute minor for interference.
"You don't hit our captain late," said Montgomery. "That was a three-second late hit. I loved the fact that Marchand made the guy pay a price for doing it."
Marchand's teammates concurred with the coach, complimenting Marchand for his swift action in defending his longtime linemate.
"Two Original Six teams…obviously, anytime Bergy gets hit like that we're going to react," said DeBrusk. "I actually didn't see what happened, but you could just see the crowd go nuts, so I knew something was going on. There were a couple other scrums…whenever these two teams match up, we always play each other hard."
"What I would point out is [Marchand] sticking up for Bergy," added Pastrnak. "It's obviously outstanding, and that's been kind of our motto in the team. It's great to see when a guy like Marchy sticks up for our captain and definitely gets everybody going on the bench."Late in the first period, A.J. Greer and Mike Hoffman tussled before a faceoff in the neutral zone. After Hoffman whacked Greer with his stick, Greer delivered a cross-check that rode up and caught the Montreal forward in the chin. Greer was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct.
"We talked about playing with emotion, which is great, but not getting emotional," said Montgomery. "Unfortunately, Greersy that stick rode up. I don't know if it rode up the stick or the shoulder pad and it cut him. It's something we can learn from…because you can't take those kinds of penalties in playoffs."
"Whenever I do talk to him, because we're going to be off [Friday], I'll talk to him about the necessity of controlling his emotions and that he needs to learn from it, that's all. We're going to move past that."

Pasta Hits a High Note

While he fell just short the 50-goal mark, Pastrnak did hit a pair of milestones on Thursday night when he notched his 49th of the season to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead just 2:36 into the second period. The tally secured a new career-high for the winger, who had registered 48 goals in 2019-20, while also tying him with Ken Hodge for eighth on the Bruins' all-time list with 289 career goals.
"This is the kind of game where the only thing you think about is getting the win," Pastrnak said of the achievement. "These games against Montreal never get old. It doesn't really matter where in the standings each team is. It brings so much history. It's a big win. When Montreal and the Bruins play, both teams are gonna play hard."
Pastrnak scored on what has become an increasingly common maneuver for the 26-year-old. After receiving a cross-ice feed from Tyler Bertuzzi - who also picked up his first goal as a Bruin when he opened the scoring with a bank-shot marker 4:34 into the game - Pastrnak, from his office in the left-wing circle, pump-faked and moved a step into the slot before firing a wrister by Montreal goalie Jake Allen.
"Lately, I've been getting a lot of shots blocked on the one-timers," said Pastrnak, mentioning the power play specifically. "You have to come up with some new plays, and it's the way this penalty kill is going this year, I think it took a huge step in hockey. It's something new that you haven't seen for years, playing three guys a little bit away from the net. You have to adjust to that a little bit and get more guys to go out and move around."
With the Habs down by a pair in the third and their net empty for an extra attacker, Marchand passed up an opportunity for an empty-netter as he looked for Pastrnak and a chance at his 50th goal - yet another example of the selfless nature of the club.
"Emblematic of this team," said Montgomery. "They're incredibly selfless. You see guys sacrifice their bodies blocking shots and you see plays like that. It's not the first time we've seen guys pass up empty-net goals to try and get somebody else, whether they're trying to get to 20 goals, 50 goals, 800 points, 1,000 points, there's a lot of milestones this year."

DeBrusk Keeps it Rolling

The Bruins opened up a 2-0 lead with 6:22 left in the first when Bergeron cleared a puck out into the neutral zone to Connor Clifton, who was exiting the penalty box. Clifton (two assists) then delivered a nifty tap pass to DeBrusk, who was surging over the red line with momentum.
As DeBrusk built speed into the Montreal end, two Canadiens defenders collided leaving the winger all alone as broke in on Allen. DeBrusk then finished with a beautiful wrister blocker-side to doubled Boston's lead.
DeBrusk has now scored in four straight games, while totaling seven points (four goals, three assists) during that span.
"Seven in four, eh?" DeBrusk asked with a smile after a reporter pointed out his stats. "Just some puck luck and obviously just trying to get into the hard areas and just trying to play my game. And at the same time, I think that I've gotten some really good passes. Just trying to bear down and get out a couple more tonight. It's one of those things where I'm just trying to build my game, as we all are, going into playoffs."

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