One down, one to go.
After taking care of business in the first leg of a two-game homestand, the Boston Bruins gear up for a key Atlantic Division clash on Saturday night with the Montreal Canadiens, who visit TD Garden for the final time this season.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm knew that Tuesday’s 6-2 loss at the Dallas Stars could be a good thing if his team could learn from the playoff style that the opposition played. Two nights later, Boston did just that, racing out to a 4-0 lead and holding on to beat another Western Conference playoff frontrunner in the Vegas Golden Knights, 4-3.
“I think we just had the right attitude,” Sturm said. “We touched on a few things from the Dallas game. We just didn’t like the game, how it went and how it turned out. I think guys just showed up (Thursday), and they wanted to prove anyone wrong that that’s not our game.”
The Bruins have won six straight at home, and their 18 total home victories are tied for the second most in the NHL this season.
The path to the latest was impressive. Boston started the scoring with three goals in 54 seconds — including two during a four-minute power play — but it had to dig very deep to close the game as Vegas rallied with three goals in the third period.
David Pastrnak led the Bruins with a goal and two assists, marking his seventh game with three or more points this season. Elias Lindholm had a goal and an assist, while Morgan Geekie had two helpers after scoring his first goal in 13 games in Dallas.
“We were direct, and (the pucks) went in. Two big goals,” Pastrnak said of the team’s early jump, fueled by a power play that is 10-for-30 in the last 11 games. “We’ve been playing some good hockey in this building. The fans are behind us, so we just have to keep building on that.”
The Canadiens are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games but look to bounce back from a 4-2 loss Thursday to the Buffalo Sabres. Sam Montembeault allowed three goals on the first nine shots he faced, putting Montreal in a 3-0 hole that it narrowed to 3-2 after two periods.
Outshooting Buffalo 34-17 was not enough.
“That’s just the way hockey works,” said Montreal’s leading goal scorer, Cole Caufield (26 goals). “A couple bounces early (didn’t) go our way. It’s tough chasing the game.”
Nick Suzuki added that the Habs cannot afford another slow start, especially after the way the Bruins roared out of the gates against Vegas.
“Good teams can find a way to hold onto that lead,” he said. “We definitely need to have a better start on Saturday.”
Caufield scored for a fourth straight game, and Suzuki moved his point streak to four games with a goal and an assist against Buffalo.
The Canadiens are one of the NHL’s best road teams (14-5-6) and already beat the host Bruins 6-2 on Dec. 23. In that game, Zachary Bolduc led off Montreal’s four-goal run in the third period to break open a 2-2 tie.
Although the 22-year-old Bolduc has not scored a goal since, Habs coach Martin St. Louis has been impressed with his recent play, even before he was rewarded with an assist Thursday.
“He’s played better, I would say, the last maybe two weeks than early in the season when he was scoring,” St. Louis said. “It’s easy to measure that, but if you understand the way the game should be played … he’s a way better player right now. … He’s still a young player, but I’m happy to see the growth.”
Former Boston College goaltender Jacob Fowler made 26 saves last month in Boston, but the rookie has won just one of his five outings since (1-3-1).
–Field Level Media
