The Bruins came in hoping for a lively chapter in the old Boston-Montreal rivalry. Instead, Thursday night turned into a reminder that the Canadiens were the team that arrived ready to play.
Montreal jumped on the Bruins early and never let go, rolling to a 5-2 win at the Garden and pushing the B’s out of first place in the Atlantic Division. The loss also ended Boston’s seven-game home winning streak, while the Canadiens extended their point streak to 12 games.
The Bruins spent long stretches with the puck and still couldn’t turn that into control of the game. Montreal made them pay for every mistake, and by the second period the visitors had already built a 5-0 lead.
Jeremy Swayman, who has been Boston’s most dependable player this season, had a rough night by his standards. He allowed four goals on 17 shots before being pulled in the second period. On the other side, former Boston College goalie Jacob Fowler was sharp when called upon, finishing with 30 saves.
The slow starts that have dogged the Bruins all season showed up again, and this time there was no bailout.
“It’s something we’ve been struggling with the whole season but we were able to get into the games and overall end up winning, so you kind of forget about the bad starts. But against a team like Montreal, it’s unacceptable to start like that,” said captain David Pastrnak, who along with his linemates was minus-3.
Coach Marco Sturm didn’t hide from the opening stretch either.
“That for me was the disappointing part. That we just came out flat,” said Sturm.
The game’s first meeting of the season had a different look, with both teams wearing their Hometown Remix jerseys instead of their usual classic uniforms. The feel on the ice, though, brought back plenty of familiar frustration for Bruins fans.
Montreal struck first at 2:34 when Kirby Dach wrapped around the net, got behind Mikey Eyssimont, and slipped the puck past Swayman at the far post through Charlie McAvoy. The Canadiens made it 2-0 before the first intermission when Josh Anderson buried a rebound after Mike Matheson, back from injury and playing his first game since Oct. 27, sent a shot toward the net that Jake Evans tipped.
Boston did generate chances in the opening period, outshooting Montreal 14-11, but Fowler turned aside the Bruins’ best look when JJ Peterka found Pavel Zacha alone in front after Fowler had wandered out of the net. Fowler slid back in time to make the pad stop.
The second period only deepened the Bruins’ problems. Boston spent the first four minutes pressing in the offensive zone, but Montreal stayed organized and then punished the Bruins on the counter.
Frederic Brunet came down from the point and had his shot blocked, and moments later Anderson sent Evans away for a breakaway. With Mason Lohrei caught wide, Evans beat Swayman with a backhand to make it 3-0 at 4:24.
The next blow came after Pastrnak lost the puck high in the offensive zone. Cole Caufield took off on a breakaway and snapped a wrister past Swayman at 8:14, ending the Boston goalie’s night. Michael DiPietro took over from there.
Sturm said the collapse wasn’t on one person.
“Overall we were just not good enough, me included, goalie, players, you name it,” said Sturm. “Today was not good and at 4-0 you usually try to do something.”
The Canadiens weren’t done. Philip Danault beat DiPietro with a one-timer at 14:15, and the visiting fans could be heard with a faint “Ole!
Ole! Ole!”
in the building.
Boston finally avoided a shutout when Elias Lindholm set up Casey Mittelstadt on a 2-on-1 for Mittelstadt’s sixth goal of the season at 14:53 of the second. Mittelstadt then scored again just 53 seconds into the third period, finishing off a rebound to trim the deficit.
But that was as close as the Bruins got. The hole was too deep, the night too messy, and Montreal had already done the damage.
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