In Boston, Brad Marchand hot for a hat trick on Wednesday night in a 5-1 Bruins win over the Montreal Canadiens.
Linus Ullmark made 24 saves in the Bruins win.
“I think we have good momentum going for us now,” Marchand said. “Hopefully it continues all year, but I’m sure there’ll be times where it’s going against us and we have to find a way to get it back. That’s just how the season goes.”
Michael Pezzetta was the line goal scorer for Montreal.
“I definitely like playing against [Boston],” Pezzetta said. “It’s a good challenge, and they’re a great hockey team. … It’s definitely a tough game to be a part of. There’s lots of hard play, which I like, but obviously it wasn’t the outcome we wanted today.”
Boston improved to 20-11-2.
“It’s tough to score five goals every night in this league. Nobody does,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “At the start of the year, there were games that we’d walk out, and their goalie would be the first star. That hasn’t happened as much lately.”
Marchand scored twice in the opening frame for a 2-0 Boston lead.
Lazar scored with less than a minute left in the stanza for a 3-0 advantage.
Marchand finished his hat trick with a shorthanded strike in the second period.
“We’ve all been focusing on it more recently,” Marchand said. “It’s something that we’ve had to add to our game. We were getting a lot of shots early on in the season … and you know, the majority of the goals in this league are scored from there. So we had to get some more guys in front, get rebounds there again in front of the net, and focus a little more on being around there. Our group’s been doing that since the break has been over, and it’s really paying off for us right now.”
The Habs dropped to 7-24-4, it was their first game since 1 Jan.
“It’s tough to come off a break like that,” the Canadiens’ Jeff Petry said. “It’s hard to jump right into that compete and that battle. I think that’s what hurt us tonight. … They’re playing well, and they’re rolling.”
Boston’s Curtis Lazar scored a pair of goals and had three points on the night.
“I’m just kind of seeing the game differently out there, where you know I’m seeing my plays, being strong on the puck, and it’s nice to get rewarded for those chances,” Lazar said. “But I think you guys know me. I’m kind of that blue-collar player that just plays hard both ways and I just hope for the best. I’m not going to reinvent the wheel out there. So to get rewarded playing the right way, it feels really good.”
Jake Allen got the start and made five saves and yielded two goals before departing the crease with an apparent injury.
Sam Montembeault, who made 31 saves in relief.
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