The Montreal Canadiens were back in action on Thursday night, losing to the Boston Bruins 6-4 just 24 hours after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs to open their season on Wednesday.
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Despite scoring two goals in the third period to make things interesting at 5-4, a soft goal by Canadiens starter Cayden Primeau took the wind out of the sails, and Montreal had to leave Boston with a 1-1-0 record after two days of hockey.
Even though the Canadiens continued their losing streak on the road against the Bruins, which dates back to Jan. 14, 2019, there are some positive things to discuss, including the team scoring a power-play goal for the second consecutive night.
Here are the takeaways from the Canadiens’ 6-4 loss.
Canadiens Failed to Capitalize on Rusty Swayman
Bruins netminder Jeremy Swayman didn’t play a single second of the pre-season, sitting out his contract dispute with the club. He skated with some college kids at Boston University to stay in shape.
Instead of pouncing on a goalie who hasn’t played a game since May, Montreal went over nine minutes without a shot to start the second period, unable to penetrate the tough Bruins defense.
The game plan should have been simple: get pucks on the net and make Swayman work. Instead, they registered 11 shots through 40 minutes before getting to work in the third with 13. Still, the Bruins netminder finished the contest with a .833 SV%, making 20 saves in his first win of the year.
Montreal Shows Fighting Spirit but Comes Up Short
On Thursday night, the Canadiens blew a 1-0 and 2-1 lead in the first period, heading into the first intermission down 3-2. However, that didn’t prevent them from returning in the third period and keeping the Bruins on their heels in the final five minutes.
Although they fell behind 5-2 heading into the final 20 minutes, Montreal got goals from Josh Anderson and Brendan Gallagher (his second of the night) to keep things interesting heading to the buzzer.
Even after Cayden Primeau gave up one of the most backbreaking goals of his career, with four minutes left, the visitors got a power play opportunity with 2:55 on the clock.
Despite finishing the night 1-for-6 on the man advantage, with a sixth attacker in the game’s final power play opportunity, the Canadiens couldn’t overcome that late goal and net their fifth goal. Ultimately, their fighting spirit lasted until the sixth goal, the final nail in the coffin on Thursday night.
Canadiens Spread Out Their Offense
Montreal scored four goals on Swayman, with Gallagher becoming the first player this season to collect two in a single game. He was one of three scorers on the night, with Cole Caufield and Anderson also getting on the scoresheet.
Meanwhile, a total of eight skaters picked up points on Thursday night. Considering the club just shut out one of the league’s most lethal offenses on opening night, they kept the momentum going in Boston, and everyone got in on the act.
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Last year, in four meetings, the Canadiens only scored more than three goals against the Bruins on one occasion (a 9-4 defeat), winning a single game, 3-2 in overtime.
Despite losing another game to the Bruins in Boston, Montreal hung in with a top team in the Atlantic Division and a contender to be a final-four team in the playoffs. It may have only been the second game of the season and the second one in two nights, but the Canadiens made a complete effort from start to finish, with everyone buying into the game plan and executing plays when called upon.
A lucky bounce here or there, and the outcome could have been different. After a brilliant performance 24 hours earlier, this loss to the Bruins is nothing to hang heads about after going toe-to-toe against two of the conference’s top teams, who employ one of the league’s best defensive corps.
On Saturday, the Canadiens return to action against a familiar foe, the Ottawa Senators, who recently swept Montreal to wrap up pre-season action last week.
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