MONTREALBenoit Pouliot said he didnt feel the pressure, but its gone all the same.
After going 15 games without a goaland only a pair of assiststhe former Habs winger scored another high-degree-of-difficulty, circus goal in Bostons 4-3 shootout win over the Canadiens at the Bell Centre Wednesday night.
Pouliot had been rushing into the offensive zone with speed and slight out-of-control fervor as he attacked a pair of Montreal defensemen in the always low-percentage 1-on-2 odd-man rush.
But instead of pulling the puck out or giving up on the play, Pouliot instead attacked the net in north-south fashion and split Tomas Kaberle and Chris Campoli with one stick-handling move. Pouliot fished the puck right through Campolis legs before firing the shot past a stunned Carey Price.
The goal gives Pouliot nine for the season, one shy of a double-digit output during his first season in Boston.
It feels good, said Pouliot. "It feels good to take that scoring drought off your shoulders. Now maybe I can get that consistency going for the rest of the season.
Coach Claude Julien felt that a breakthrough was coming for Pouliot, and might have guessed it might come against his former team.
Ben was good tonight, said Julien. We talked about straight-forward hockey and wanting to make a difference. Hes capable of doing that and we needed him tonight. He has a tendency to score highlight-reel goals and he did that again tonight. I liked his game.
The project for Pouliot and his Bruins team is now to recreate that special effort at the Bell Centre over the rest of the road trip.