The Boston Bruins were leading by a goal at one point, but two third-period goals from the Montreal Canadiens brought about a 4-3 loss on March 3, propelling Montreal to the top of the Northeast Division and the entire Eastern Conference.
Tyler Seguin, Patrice Bergeron and Dougie Hamilton scored for the Bruins and Hamilton's goal was his first ever on home ice. He found the back of the net on the same bad angle that Rich Peverley--and Steven Stamkos--did the previous day. Marchand assisted on every goal scored, making this game his first three-assist night of his entire career so far.
But the Bruins had to play from behind until Hamilton finally pushed them ahead in the middle of the second period. Tomas Plekanec scored on the power play, David Desharnais untied the game again just after Seguin's goal, plus the third-period offensive burst from Max Pacioretty and Desharnais again sealed the deal.
A big part of the third-period surge had to do with the consequences of a fight between Zdeno Chara and Alexei Emelin when Chara took exception to Emelin cross-checking Seguin. The fight happened late in the second period, but as a result, Chara served a total of 17 penalty minutes and was out for much of the rest of the game. He returned to the ice after Montreal made it 4-3.
Julien said that he supported Chara's decision to take matters into his own hands, especially in light of how a penalty wasn't called on the play.
"Right now, the frustrating part is that you end up with 17 minutes in the penalty box when you should've been on a power play. It's as simple as that," he said in a post-game press conference.
He also talked about the amount of embellishment seen not only in the game but also throughout the entire league. However, he did note that the Canadiens have had 100 power plays so far this season, which leads the NHL, whereas the Bruins are in dead last for power play opportunities given.
The Bruins, now holding a 14-3-2 record, will go on the road for their next game, March 5 against the Washington Capitals.
Comments