By: Ryan Bosworth | @RyanJBosworth
The Boston Bruins were at TD Garden tonight, facing off against the Montreal Canadiens in an Original Six matchup. The two teams came into tonight’s contest rather close in the Atlantic Division standings, separated by just three points. Going home with both points is crucial for both teams, as they both currently sit in a wild card spot.
Much of the Bruins’ lineup was the same, with the only shifts coming on defense. Jonathan Aspirot remained on the top pair with Charlie McAvoy, Nikita Zadorov was paired with Andrew Peeke, and Mason Lohrei and Hampus Lindholm were on the third pair. Jeremy Swayman got the nod tonight.
First Period
The first period was anything but what the Bruins wanted it to be. Completely one-sided, with Montreal carrying all of the momentum. The Bruins, luckily, gave up just one goal in the opening frame, with Cole Caufield opening on the scoring less than seven minutes in.
Jeremy Swayman was just about the only brightspot, stopping six of seven shots, and a couple of those were big stops — this game could’ve easily had a wider margin after 20 minutes.
Second Period
The second frame was much better for Boston, but still not their best. They were able to tie things up early in the period, on the power play, thanks to Viktor Arvidsson. Fraser Minten fed Arvidsson down low, who tapped in his own rebound and tied things up 1-1.
Montreal would respond not too long after, also on the power play, and thanks to Cole Caufield (again). Back-and-forth passing between Caufield and Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki tired Boston’s penalty kill unit, and Caufield was able go top-shelf over Swayman.
The Bruins would be the next to score, and it’s being put into contention for the prettiest goal of the year. After almost allowing a short-handed goal, Charlie McAvoy recovered, sent a pass up-ice to David Pastrnak, who went in on a Canadien defender. He flipped the pass to himself, through the slot, and turned around to feed Morgan Geekie, who had a wide-open net.
Cole Caufield (yes, again) scored his third goal of the night, getting the hat trick, with a goal that was basically a copy-and-paste of his second goal — below the dot and up high on Swayman. The Bruins were back to being down a goal.
Before heading to the locker room for the second intermission, Nikita Zadorov took a hit along the boards, toe picked, and fell on his right knee. He was helped off the ice, but was able to return for the third and finished out the rest of the game.
Third Period
This is where things started turning around for Boston. 14 minutes went by without a goal from either side — until Fraser Minten, after attempting to feed Morgan Geekie and regaining possession of the puck, puts a backhand shot over the shoulder of Montembeault, and ties things up at three apiece. Minten’s first goal, and second point of the night, gave Boston new life.
Right after tying the game, Boston would go to the power play after Alexandre Carrier took a holding penalty. What would follow is a weird sequence — Charlie McAvoy gains possession of the puck at the offensive-zone blue line, feeds it over to Morgan Geekie for the one-timer, and both sides would lose sight of the puck. After a few seconds, and the referee checking the back of the netting, the Bruins were celebrating. After the officials reviewed it again, it was determined it a good goal, and the Bruins’ first lead of the game.
The Bruins had just under six minutes remaining in regulation with a one-goal lead. After fighting off several pushes from the Canadiens, who had Sam Montembeault on the bench for the extra attacker, the Bruins would hang on to win 4-3 over the Canadiens.
Jeremy Swayman had a strong performance, stopping 22 of 25 shots and making several big saves to keep the Bruins in the game. Strong games from Morgan Geekie, Fraser Minten, and Charlie McAvoy, all of whom had two-point games, helped the Bruins top the Canadiens 4-3.
Boston now has a record of 30-20-2, and sit just one point back of the first wild card spot, which is held by the Canadiens. For the first time this season, the Bruins fought back from being down after 40 minutes of play to win. Before tonight, they were 0-17-0 in those situations.
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