MONTREAL – There was not much missing for the Canadian to accomplish the titanic task of inflicting a rare, very rare defeat on the steamroller of the Boston Bruins. But even another stunning performance from Samuel Montembeault was not enough.
Here are our observations of this meeting won by the Bruins, 4 to 2, at the Bell Centre.
Montembeault has done almost everything against the Bruins
After 47 games, the Bruins have a fabulous +83 goal differential, a 40-goal lead over their closest rivals! In his eighth consecutive start, Montembeault flouted this domination by repeatedly frustrating Jim Montgomery’s players.
He was smoking shield against David Pastrnak on the power play, he literally robbed Trent Frederic on reception with a perfect lateral movement and he also stopped Brad Marchand to the delight of the crowd.
It also took a clever deflection from David Krejci to beat him on the second goal.
“Everyone worked, the guys sacrificed themselves, they blocked shots. It could have been on our side, we were in on it from start to finish. It’s frustrating because we worked really hard, we deserved a point,” mentioned Montembeault.
Bergeron is master against Suzuki when it counts
One of the interesting parts of the confrontation was the duel between Nick Suzuki and Patrice Bergeron who were opposed for most of the match.
Even in the first period, Suzuki had won his eight duels in the face-off circle against Bergeron, one of his inspirations.
That said, Bergeron is not the reference standard for nothing, at the center position, in the NHL.
With three minutes left in the game, he won a face-off in the offensive zone against Suzuki and he perfectly recovered a throwback to thwart Montembeault and knock out the CH.
“I’m very proud of the guys, we fought hard and played a good game. It’s difficult to face them, but we were in the game. We did not have the expected result, but you have to be careful how you measure success,” said Martin St-Louis.
However, Bergeron’s goal raised some ambiguity on the bench for the Canadiens, who consider that the Bruins’ entry into the zone had been preceded by an offside. The Bruins still got a face-off in the offensive zone and they took the opportunity to take the lead for good.
“We saw it from the bench, it was difficult for the referee on the other side, he had two players in front of him. From our angle, it was obvious. It’s a shame it gives them a face-off in our zone at this time of the game, ”responded St-Louis.
“I especially remember the offside before the goal, it’s difficult to pass so close and lose with such a situation. But it is sure that he was facing a special player in Patrice, he has been at the top of the NHL in face-offs for years, ”commented Michael Matheson.
Dach excels at the right time
The Bruins not only lead the NHL in goals scored, but also in goals against.
So it took a player, in the CH camp, to come and shake up this superiority.
Thus, Kirby Dach managed a two-goal performance at a very opportune moment. He put on his 9e et 10e goals of the campaign, a high for him, while crossing the 30-point plateau for the first time in his career.
“He’s been playing with a lot of consistency these days. He is really showing his potential. It’s hard, it takes consistency to convince people of your potential,” boasted the coach, who likes to see him develop his arsenal by blocking shots and completing his checks.
It was not enough to deserve victory.
The importance of details
To overcome the bad Bruins, the CH had to forget the points for the style. The players of Martin St-Louis had understood this well by sacrificing themselves several times. We think of David Savard and Josh Anderson who blocked important shots.
“I think we played very well, with a good structure and as a team. It’s pocket to lose at the end of the match especially since there had just been an offside so it should not have happened. The effort was there, we deserved better than that,” Anderson said.
But the champions in detail are the Bruins and they found a way to win even when things weren’t going great for them.
On several occasions, the Bruins buzzed into Montreal territory, but the CH were able to limit the damage.
It continues for Belzile and Harvey-Pinard
These days, the Canadian has to deal with a bus of injured people. For a duel against Boston, it was far from the expected scenario. Despite everything, reinforcements like Alex Belzile and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard still held their own.
Belzile made a very important play on Dach’s second goal. Well posted in front of the net, he pushed the return towards Dach who took advantage of a gaping cage. Moreover, Belzile deserved to score his first goal as he ran into the horizontal bar.
“I can play on the wing or in the middle, it’s to my advantage. With talented guys, I went to the net, I was able to push the return, I had seen Dach coming. But you have to start over every day,” said Belzile, who does not want to slow down.
“They are hockey players. They show up and work. They are able to board in a group and follow directions. I’m not surprised, they take nothing for granted and they deserve everything that happens to them,” said St-Louis.
The beautiful rivalry is reborn
It was a shame for the fans that the Canadian had to wait at his 48e match to rub shoulders with his old enemy.
Except that the rivalry was quick to make itself felt in the Montreal amphitheater. We’re exaggerating a bit, but we even suspect that Marchand was bored of being booed by the Bell Center crowd.