BOSTON, Ma— The Bruins hosted their arch-rival Montreal Canadiens Wednesday night in an original-six matchup that dominated by David Pastrnak and controlled by Boston the entire way.
The Bruins have dominated the Habs throughout many of the previous matchups, winning 11 of the last 14 games, and nothing changed Wednesday night as Boston would control every aspect of the game, beating arch-rival Montreal 4-1. Pastrnak had a career night, scoring a hat trick for the fourth time this season, second against Montreal alone.
“He’s [Pastrnak] moving forward. We wanna see him continue to score. He’s at 40 [goals], I assume the next conversation is 50 and we wanna see him do it,” said head coach Bruce Cassidy.
The Bruins started off the game with some energy. Brad Marchand is not just a great hockey player, he’s an outstanding athlete. Early in the first period, Marchand would dangle and twist through Canadien defenders, eventually making a smooth pass to David Pastrnak, who netted his career-high 39th goal of the season.
With this 39th goal of the season from David Pastrnak, the spaghetti man surpasses his career-high in goals for a single season (38 in 2018-19).
The Bruins still have 24 games (+2.5 periods) left this season ?? pic.twitter.com/2agSi35oZx
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) February 13, 2020
Tensions high, as they always are in this rivalry, Marchand tussled with Jeff Petry late in the first period. A Marchand takedown that would lead to a Montreal powerplay, and another penalty kill for one of the best penalty kill units in the entire NHL.
It never makes sense to fight Brad Marchand… ever. #NHLBruins | #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/GYrYCnNNzd
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) February 13, 2020
“There should by some chippiness in this rivalry. That’s how it should be,” said Cassidy.
Pastrnak would then add his 40th goal just four minutes into the second period. With a strong feed from Sean Kuraly, Pastrnak became the tenth Bruin with 40 goals and 40 assists in a season, and the first Bruin since Glenn Murray in 2003 with 40 goals in one season.
Just a beautiful feed from Sean Kuraly and David Pastrnak continues to have an incredible season.
40 goals for ????pic.twitter.com/eYjhqbPcDc
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) February 13, 2020
Just 35 seconds later, Montreal would get on the board thanks to Marco Scandella’s 5th goal of the season. Tempers would continue to flare as Zdeno Chara and Brendan Gallagher both went to the box after Gallagher picked a fight with the Bruins captain.
Imagine picking a fight with Zdeno Chara… couldn’t be me. pic.twitter.com/WtZgskVTlg
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) February 13, 2020
A hat trick for Pastrnak after he had two goals in just the first 25 minutes was evident. 15 minutes into the second period, Pasta got his hat trick as hats rained down on the TD Garden ice. Pastrnak became the first player ever with 2 hat tricks against the Canadiens in one season. Not to forget, there are still 24 games left in the season, and Pastrnak already as 41 goals on the year.
Not a better hockey sight than hats raining down on the ice ?
David Pastrnak is an icon. pic.twitter.com/gbiQqApr5B
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) February 13, 2020
Most of the third period was just Montreal trying to limit the number of times Pastrnak touched the puck. The Captain had some kind words on Pastrnak after the game when asked on what he thought of Pasta’s performance: “He’s very talented. He’s got the instinct— where to go, when to go… proud of him,” said Chara.
Zdeno Chara on Pastrnak:
“He’s very talented. He’s got the instinct— where to go, when to go… proud of him.” ? pic.twitter.com/CHihKCWwFe
— Jordan Moore (@iJordanMoore) February 13, 2020
The Bruins have won their 6th straight home game. With the win tonight, coach Bruce Cassidy needs just one more victory to earn his 200th career NHL win as a head coach. A tough week for Price’s in Boston this week as the city sent both Carey Price and David Price packing this week.
“You wanna continue to play well and push the game in our favor. We’re playing pretty well right now but we need to continue to build on this momentum,” said Chara.
Boston improves to 35-11-12 and will look to win nine out of the last ten games on Saturday as they host Detroit at 1 PM at the TD Garden.
This article was written by Jordan Moore. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Hate mail? Let him hear it on Twitter @iJordanMoore, Instagram @iJordanMoore, or via email at jordancmoore19@gmail.com.
