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Bruins win rare game in Montreal, shootout
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| Milan Lucic celebrates his gaol against Montreal Saturday night. AP |
There have been two things the Boston Bruins have struggled with lately: winning in Montreal and winning shootouts.
Saturday night, the B’s figured out how to take care of both.
After almost two years of struggles, the Boston Bruins finally beat the Montreal Canadiens on their home ice Saturday night, 3-2 in a shootout on a night the Habs retired Patrick Roy’s number. It was also just the second shootout victory of the season for Boston, which improved to 2-4 in those situations.
With the victory, the Bruins also took sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the New York Rangers. They are also one point behind the San Jose Sharks for the best record in the NHL.
No team is hotter than Boston. The B’s are undefeated in their last 10 games (9-0-1). Their power play has jumped to sixth in the league with a 21.2 success rate while their penalty kill team has rebounded to 12th in the league at 83 percent.
One reason for their assent to the top is the play of Milan Lucic. The 20-year-old power forward has become a force offensively while consistently throwing his weight around.
Saturday night, Lucic showed his scoring touch, his intimidating, physical play, and his maturity. He scored the team’s first goal, led them in hits (9) and kept his poise while Montreal goon Georges Laraque tried to prod him into a fight. Head coach Claude Julien ordered Lucic not to take the bait, and Lucic followed suit.
"Pretty simple," Julien told reporters after the game. "We've got a good hockey player who's 20 years old and is a first-line player. Simple as that. You think we were going to send him against probably the toughest guy in the league?"
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The Bruins are off until Wednesday, when they travel to Buffalo for a 7 p.m. game. The Sabres have struggled of late, going just 3-6-1 in their last 10. After stuffing themselves with turkey, Boston will then host the New York Islanders on Friday for a noon matinee.
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Here are the statistical leaders for the Bruins:
| SKATERS: | GP | G | A | +/- | Pts |
| M. Savard | 21 | 8 | 19 | 13 | 27 |
| P. Kessel | 21 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| D. Krejci | 21 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 14 |
| P. Bergeron | 21 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 14 |
| M. Lucic | 21 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 13 |
| M. Sturm | 18 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 12 |
| M. Ryder | 21 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 11 |
| D. Wideman | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 10 |
| C. Kobasew | 9 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| B. Wheeler | 21 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 9 |
| GOALIES: | W | L | OT | Sv% | GAA |
| T. Thomas | 9 | 2 | 3 | .944 | 1.80 |
| M. Fernandez | 5 | 1 | 1 | .910 | 2.55 |
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Here are the latest standings for the Eastern Conference:
| # | GP | W | L | OT | PTS | GF | GA | HOME | AWAY | L10 | ||
| 1 | BOSTON* | 21 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 32 | 68 | 49 | 7-1-1 | 7-2-3 | 9-0-1 | |
| 2 | NY RANGERS* | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | 61 | 55 | 9-4-1 | 5-3-1 | 4-5-1 | |
| 3 | WASHINGTON* | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 66 | 65 | 7-0-1 | 4-6-2 | 6-2-2 | |
| 4 | PITTSBURGH | 20 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 63 | 55 | 6-3-2 | 6-2-1 | 7-2-1 | |
| 5 | MONTREAL | 19 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 25 | 58 | 50 | 5-2-1 | 6-3-2 | 4-4-2 | |
| 6 | CAROLINA | 20 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 56 | 58 | 6-4-0 | 5-3-2 | 6-4-0 | |
| 7 | NEW JERSEY | 19 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 22 | 54 | 51 | 7-4-1 | 3-3-1 | 5-5-0 | |
| 8 | PHILADELPHIA | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 22 | 65 | 60 | 4-4-1 | 5-2-3 | 6-3-1 | |
| 9 | BUFFALO | 20 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 21 | 56 | 61 | 5-5-1 | 4-3-2 | 3-6-1 | |
| 10 | TORONTO | 20 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 19 | 63 | 72 | 3-3-4 | 4-5-1 | 3-5-2 | |
| 11 | TAMPA BAY | 19 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 18 | 43 | 54 | 3-3-4 | 3-4-2 | 3-4-3 | |
| 12 | NY ISLANDERS | 20 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 52 | 63 | 4-6-1 | 4-4-1 | 6-3-1 | |
| 13 | OTTAWA | 20 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 18 | 48 | 51 | 4-5-2 | 3-4-2 | 3-4-3 | |
| 14 | ATLANTA | 19 | 7 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 53 | 66 | 5-5-0 | 2-5-2 | 5-5-0 | |
| 15 | FLORIDA | 19 | 7 | 11 | 1 | 15 | 44 | 56 | 4-3-0 | 3-8-1 | 3-6-1 |
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