The Bruins might have been looking for a more convincing win after getting drubbed by St. Louis on Tuesday, but they’ll take a rare overtime road victory, head home with the two points in their back pocket and move on.
Jake DeBrusk scored 25 seconds into overtime to the lift the Bruins to a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Thursday, improving the B’s 3-on-3 record to 6-12.
After the B’s lost the opening OT faceoff, DeBrusk forced Mike Matheson wide on the rush. Hampus Lindholm then beat Matheson in a puck battle deep in the Bruin zone and sent Brad Marchand off on a 2-on-1 with DeBrusk. The captain fed DeBrusk, who did a great job of controlling saucer pass and then cut in from the left wing to beat Sam Montembeault on a backhander.
At this time of year, all’s well that ends well.
“We weren’t a Picasso by any means, but we did find a way to win,” coach Jim Montgomery told NESN.
A week ago, DeBrusk wasn’t sure if he’d still be a Bruin after the trade deadline but he finished off a strong night (four shots on net, a hit and a block) with his 16th goal of the season.
“I think everyone in this room will agree that it’s a sense of relief when you know where you’re going to be and then you see (new) guys come in and they’re super excited. It’s just that time of year again,” said DeBrusk. “Tonight was not necessarily our best game as a team but we found a way.”
If the B’s had let this one get away, it would have been a very tough loss indeed.
With the Bruins killing off a penalty at 12:06 of the third period and the score tied 1-1, Charlie McAvoy jumped high to bat out an aerial puck when he was clipped by Nick Suzuki’s stick. After a review, Suzuki was tagged with a double minor, giving the B’s 2:58 of power play once the 4-on-4 was over.
The B’s got nothing out of the lengthy man advantage, then had to survive a hairy final shift in regulation before it went to overtime, where they took care of business for a change.
At first, it looked like the B’s were ready blow out the Habs like they did in their last meeting at the Garden when they crushed their ancient rivals, 9-4. They started strong, had a handful of shifts on which they blitzed the Habs’ zone and took the first lead of the game. But Montreal was able to push back on occasion and, because of that, it was a 1-1 game after the opening 20 minutes.
The B’s got on the board at 4:49 after a great shift in which they repeatedly kept the puck in the zone. Eventually, David Pastrnak fired a shot that Montembeault stopped but the rebound was kicked out in front. Danton Heinen, who had notched a hat trick the last time the B’s met Montreal, missed on his first swipe but as the puck was sliding away from him, Heinen was able to reach behind and sling it into the open net as he was falling down. It was his 12th of the season.
The B’s had several great chances to extend the lead, especially on a particularly dominant power play on which DeBrusk hit the post on a backhander.
But the Habs didn’t lay down. They pieced together a few good shifts and, on one of them, they evened the game at 14:37.
Brandon Carlo won a puck battle with Cole Caufield. He sent a soft pass into the middle of the ice intended for Lindholm but it was picked off by Suzuki. His shot was deflected but the puck went right to Juraj Slafkovsky, who passed it right back to Suzuki for the equalizer on which Linus Ullmark (18 saves) had no chance.
It was a fun first period, but the chances dried up for both sides the rest of the way. The B’s had little by way of scoring opportunities in a scoreless second period after they got an early power play. The one even-strength chance was a glittering one, though. Pastrnak took off on a breakaway and appeared to have Montembeault beaten but he hit the outside of the post. He then collected the loose puck and tried to bank it off of Montembeault but that failed as well.
Shortly after the Pastrnak misses, Heinen was called for a hooking penalty, the first of two in the final five minutes of the period. The B’s killed the first and had 45 seconds to kill to start the third.
They killed that off and, after missing their chance to win it in regulation, Marchand and DeBrusk secured the second point in OT. On the 2-on-1, DeBrusk was hoping Marchand would give him the puck.
“I just felt like I had enough speed that I could beat (Montembeault) to the other side. It was a very nice pass by him,” said DeBrusk. “I was screaming at (Marchand) up the ice that he had two so I think I knew it was coming my way.”
And DeBrusk made it count.
John Beecher played his first game for Boston since Jan. 13 and he made the most of it, excelling in an area in which the team needs help — faceoffs. Though he lost the draw to start overtime, which is often a critical faceoff, he won 8-of-11 on the night.
“The coaching staff does a great job for us. Before every game, we have the I-Pad that shows all the guys that take faceoffs and some of their tendencies and it give you a little bit of an edge going in,” said Beecher. “I was very happy with the performance. Would have liked to rake the one back in overtime a little bit more but it is what it is, you can’t win them all. It was a pretty good game overall in the dot.”
Defenseman Andrew Peeke made his Bruin debut and emerged unscathed with two blocked shots and a hit in 17:01 of ice time.
“I thought his gaps were good. I thought he was aggressive, I thought he was physical, he separated people. He did a good job on the 4-on-4 when we put him out. He played aggressive, which is what you’re looking for, and he was using his feet,” said Montgomery.
