When the Boston Bruins turned up at the Bell Centre to face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night, only seven of their dressed players were with the team at the end of the last season. No more Brad Marchand, no Charlie McAvoy (due to injury), and no more Linus Ullmark who was traded to Ottawa last offseason. It’s been a tough season in Boston, but before this final tilt, the Bs had managed to win their first two games against the Canadiens this year.

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Rough Stuff

The actors of past memorable battles may not be there, but as long as those two teams face each other, there will be extracurricular activities after the whistle, as sure as the sky is blue. In the first frame, 23 hits were thrown, 13 by Boston and 10 by Montreal.

Juraj Slafkovsky had some words with David Pastrnak, and it looked like the Czech was asking him to dance, but nothing came of it. Still, shortly after that, the former first-overall pick had to handle a punishing hit from Nikita Zadorov. As the Canadiens led 2-0 in the middle frame, the youngster was enjoying poking fun at several Bruins, the Slovak isn’t scared to poke the sleeping bear apparently.

As for Josh Anderson, he was his usual wrecking ball self, throwing three hits, second only to Emil Heineman, who had four in the first frame. He was tied with Zadorov for the most hits across both teams. Anderson and Heineman finished the game with five hits each while Michael Pezzetta, who played 7:47 recorded seven hits.

By the end of the game, the Canadiens had 33 hits and the Bruins 29, which was the only aspect in which the Bruins weren’t manhandled.

A Dominant Second

In the first frame, the Canadiens didn’t look like they were playing a team that had lost its last six games in regulation and nine in a row; they looked like they were playing down to the competition. They looked nervous, and couldn't execute properly in the offensive zone. Someone must have said something during the break because the Habs dominated the middle frame.

Boston struggled to get out of its own end and could only muster three shots on net in that frame—full marks to Samuel Montembeault for not falling asleep out there.

The Tricolore had complete control of the puck in Boston’s territory and took 18 shots on goal. Had it not been for Swayman, it could have been 5-0 for the Canadiens after 40 minutes. We’ve seen this team dominate in the past but struggle to separate itself from the opponent, but on Thursday night, the goals were there.

The Veteran Line

While some may not have noticed, the third line formed by Brendan Gallagher, Christian Dvorak, and Andeson has a goal in nine of the last 10 games, including five goals for the pivot. Asked for his thoughts about that line, Martin St-Louis said:

I think those are three vets who understand how we want to play, the moments of the game, and the momentum; they’re all on the same page. They are dedicated; they shoot, shoot, and shoot again. It’s ...