MONTREAL (AP) — Nick Suzuki and Brendan Gallagher each had a goal and an assist, Sam Montembeault made 18 saves and the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 on Thursday night for their third straight victory.
Christian Dvorak and Cole Caufield — with his team-leading 35th — also scored for Montreal. The Canadiens hold the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the New York Rangers.
Suzuki assisted on Caufield’s goal for his 80th point of the season, then added an empty-netter for his 26th goal of the season. He’s the second Canadiens player in the past 25 years to reach the 80-point mark, joining Alex Kovalev (84 in 2007-08).
Elias Lindholm ended Montembeault's shutout bid with 6:41 remaining.
Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves for Boston. Last in the Eastern Conference, the Bruins have lost seven in a row.
Takeaways
Bruins: Swayman kept the Bruins in it with several high-end saves. The Canadiens dominated the shots 17-2 in the second. Boston recorded its first shot with 6:28 left in the period.
Canadiens: The third line of Dvorak, Gallagher and Josh Anderson keeps making an impact. The trio has combined for 13 goals in the last 10 games, including five from Dvorak, who scored his 11th of the season Thursday.
Key moment
The game featured several hard hits and scrums after the whistle between the Original Six rivals. Tensions boiled over when Montreal’s Kaiden Guhle fought Boston’s Cole Koepke with six minutes remaining in the second period.
Key stat
Boston has a 10-game winless streak (0-9-1) for the first time since 2009-10.
Up next
Both teams play at home Saturday night. The Bruins will face Carolina, and the Canadiens will play Philadelphia.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
The Associated Press
