Canadiens 2, Bruins 1
Tomas Plekanec scored to snap a tie midway through the third period to lift the visiting Montreal Canadiens to a 2-1 triumph over the host Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Carey Price made 29 saves and Erik Cole added his second tally of the season for the Canadiens, who have won back-to-back contests after a six-game losing streak.
After getting outworked and falling behind in the first period, Montreal picked up the pace in the second. The Canadiens fired 18 shots at Tim Thomas and knotted the contest at 1-1 when Cole emerged from the penalty box. He skated right to the slot and redirected defenseman Jaroslav Spacek’s shot past a screened Thomas.
Montreal took the lead at the 10:46 mark of the third. Plekanec had his initial effort blocked by Adam McQuaid but got the rebound and wristed it inside the far post.
For all the bad blood between the teams, there was only one real fight in the contest. Brad Marchand and P.K. Subban, who needed three tries to get going.
Max Pacioretty, who was injured on a brutal hit by Boston captain Zdeno Chara last March, was held to one shot in just over 12 minutes of ice time.