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 Montreal center Tomas Plekanec and left winger Max Pacioretty
scored second-period goals and the Canadiens, who are on an 8-0-1
run, moved ahead of Boston atop the division with a 2-1 win over the
Bruins on Thursday night.
Goaltender Carey Price made 32 saves for Montreal, which extended
its winning streak to four in the first of four meetings this season
between the longtime divisional rivals.
The Canadiens, who played two more games than Boston, improved to
18-9-3 to move one point ahead of the Bruins with 39 points.
"We know that we have an opportunity to be an elite team in the
league, and that's what we're striving to be," said Montreal
defenseman P.K. Subban, the 2012-13 Norris Trophy winner as the
NHL's top defenseman. "We're attaining that goal because we're doing
the right things. We're working hard and we're holding each other
accountable."
Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped 25 shots.
Center Gregory Campbell scored the only goal of the first period
after Boston defenseman Johnny Boychuk was taken off on a stretcher
when he suffered a back injury on a hit into the boards by
Pacioretty.
The game was delayed for 10 minutes while Boychuk was attended to on
the ice by medical staff from both teams after the hit in the left
corner behind the Montreal goal 4:28 into the game. Pacioretty was
penalized for boarding.
"I think it was deserving of a two-minute penalty," Boston coach
Claude Julien said. "I'm being honest here, I don't think it was
more than that. I think it's probably the way he went into the
boards that did most of the damage. I don't think it was from the
severity of the hit, so we have to be honest if we're going to clean
up this game, and to turn around and say, 'It should have been a
game suspension,' I don't think so. That's my opinion."
Boychuk grimaced in pain and was breathing heavily while he was down
on the ice on all fours before he was placed on a stretcher. His
head and neck were immobilized before he was wheeled off the ice.
Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli said in a statement on the
Bruins' website that Boychuk "was able to demonstrate movement in
all of his extremities" before he was taken to Montreal General
Hospital for observation.
Julien did not have any further details about the nature or extent
of Boychuk's injury.
"The good news is he's coming back with us (Thursday night) and then
he'll be reassessed by our doctors back in Boston," Julien said.
[to top of second column] |
Plekanec tied it at 1 with his fourth goal in
seven games 9:16 into the second. Plekanec scored his 10th of
the season from a sharp angle when he beat Rask inside the right
post with a shot from low in the right faceoff circle on a pass
from defenseman Josh Gorges.
Pacioretty put Montreal ahead at 17:42 with his
ninth goal in his last five games at the Bell Centre with a backhand
shot through traffic in the slot into the left side of the net.
"It's just going in right now," Pacioretty said. "I didn't play a
strong game. I thought I felt OK in the beginning, and I got a
little bit of the life sucked out of me once that injury happened. I
felt terrible and honestly I didn't know how it happened completely
and I just felt bad, but at the same time I've got to be stronger
mentally than that. I got back to my game and felt a little bit
better as the game went on."
Pacioretty scored in five straight home games and has 10 points in
his last nine games overall. He has no points in four road games
over the same stretch.
Campbell took a pass from left winger Milan Lucic on a 2-on-1 and
beat Price at 17:35 of the first to open the scoring with his second
goal in 28 games this season.
Montreal played its third game in four nights, including consecutive
wins against New Jersey. The Canadiens defeated the Devils 3-2 on
Monday at the Bell Centre, and 4-3 in a shootout at New Jersey on
Wednesday.
The Bruins (18-8-2) had not played since Saturday, when they beat
Columbus, 3-1. Rask's record against Montreal fell to 2-9-2.
"It would be nice to win, obviously," Rask said. "I've played some
bad games against these guys, I've played some good games, just not
good enough to win, but it doesn't matter, I want to win every
game," Rask said. "It's just my record doesn't show how things are
against Montreal."
NOTES: A moment of silence was observed before the game in memory of
former South African president Nelson Mandela. The 1993 Nobel Peace
Prize winner died Thursday at the age of 95 following a long
illness. ... It was the 722nd regular season game between the two
teams, and the 361st in Montreal. The Canadiens entered with 348
wins and 263 regulation losses overall in the series, including 208
wins at home and 102 regulation losses. ... Bruins D Adam McQuaid
did not make the trip because of a groin injury. ... RW Jordan Caron
and D Kevan Miller were healthy scratches for Boston. ... Canadiens
LW Rene Bourque missed his second straight game because of an
upper-body injury. ... D Francis Bouillon and C Ryan White did not
dress for Montreal.
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