The Bruins’ first home loss since Oct. 5 came with a thud on Homecoming night, as Montreal rolled into TD Garden and left with a 5-2 win Thursday.
Boston did get a pair of goals from Casey Mittelstadt, but the night belonged to the Canadiens from the opening minutes. Montreal improved to 12-3-4, and the Bruins spent most of the evening chasing the game after falling into an early hole.
Kirby Dach set the tone just 2:34 into the first period. He took the puck from Arber Xhekaj, circled behind Jeremy Swayman’s net and finished from the left side to put Montreal up 1-0.
Not long after, Josh Anderson made it 2-0. Jake Evans redirected a shot from Mike Matheson, and Anderson slipped behind Mason Lohrei to bury the rebound five-hole on Swayman.
Boston came out with some push to begin the second period, pinning Montreal in its own end and taking advantage of a long change. But once the Canadiens cleared the zone, Jake Evans broke free and beat Swayman to stretch the lead to 3-0.
Then came the backbreaker. Cole Caufield stripped the puck from David Pastrnak, raced in alone and beat Swayman high with a wrist shot to make it 4-0, ending Swayman’s night. He finished with 13 saves on 17 shots in 28:14, while Michael DiPietro took over in relief and stopped 12 shots.
The change in net didn’t slow Montreal down much. Phillip Danault finished a one-timer from Zachary Bolduc to push the Canadiens ahead 5-0.
Boston finally got on the board late in the second period and snapped Jacob Fowler’s shutout bid. Elias Lindholm found Mittelstadt in the slot, and Mittelstadt pulled the puck to his backhand before beating Fowler for his sixth goal of the season.
Mittelstadt wasn’t done. Less than a minute into the third period, he pounced on an Elias Lindholm rebound and scored again at the 53-second mark for his seventh of the year.
There was also a scary moment in the third when Mikey Eyssimont lost an edge on an odd-man rush and collided with Montreal’s Chris Kreider. Play stopped immediately, Kreider headed straight down the tunnel, and he did not return.
The Bruins continue their four-game homestand Saturday night against the Minnesota Wild at 7:00 PM. Boston’s first loss of the season came in Minnesota on Oct. 3.
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