MONTREAL -- It certainly felt like the Bruins might have been conceding when they opted to start rookie Zane McIntyre against the first-place Montreal Canadiens in the belly of the beast at the Bell Centre.
Instead the first-year goaltender stood his ground in the crease for most of the night, and it looked like the Bruins had done just enough to at least secure a point. Instead a Zane McIntyre rebound in front was banged home by Paul Byron in the final minutes of the third period, and the Bruins dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision to the hated Habs.
CANADIENS 4, BRUINS 2:
- Highlights: Montreal Canadiens 3, Boston Bruins 2
- Julien: Loss to Canadiens 'disappointing in a way, but encouraging in another'
- Talking Points: Price the No. 1 star for Canadiens
It appeared the two teams were headed to overtime after David Pastrnak’s ninth goal of the season tied things up midway through the third period as he scored a one-time blast past Carey Price off a smooth dish from D-man John-Michael Liles. But it was not to be once Alex Radulov fired a puck at the Boston net with traffic in front that created the fateful rebound.
The Canadiens had opened the scoring in the second period on the power play in predictable fashion: defenseman Shea Weber launched a missile from the left point for his fifth goal of the season for Les Habitants. The Bruins responded less than a minute later with a fortunate bounce for Colin Miller, who fired his point blast off the end boards that caromed off the back of Price’s equipment before trickling into the back of the net.
The Bruins showed a little breakage 20 seconds later when the fourth line and the Torey Krug/Adam McQuaid pairing allowed a transition play into their own end. Alex Galchenyuk finished things off after beating a scrambling Dominic Moore to the lead pass, and scored an undeniable gut punch goal for the Habs that seized the game’s momentum.