Pastrnak pots 49th marker of season as Bruins double up on Canadiens
Montreal forward Josh Anderson to miss remainder of season with high ankle sprain
David Pastrnak scored his 49th goal, Tyler Bertuzzi had a goal and an assist and the Boston Bruins overcame a sluggish performance to beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-2 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.
Jake DeBrusk scored on a breakaway, David Krejci put home on a rebound midway through the third period and Jeremy Swayman stopped 29 shots for the Bruins, who managed 21 shots and went 0 for 5 on the power play.
While denied a chance to clinch the Atlantic Division when Toronto beat Florida, Boston to 55-11-5 and remained on pace to break the league record of 62 wins in a season.
Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach each scored power-play goals against Boston's No. 1 penalty kill, Suzuki added an assist and Jake Allen made 17 saves in Montreal's 10th loss in 12 games.
The 932nd meeting between the Original Six rivals and their only matchup in Boston this season was chippy. The Bruins were upset early with Rem Pitlick's hit on Patrice Bergeron, leading Brad Marchand to take down Pitlick.
WATCH | Pastrnak, Bruins double up on Habs in 4-2 win:
"You don't hit our captain like that. It was a three-second late hit," Montgomery said. "I love the fact that Marchand made the guy pay a price."
There were 31 penalty minutes in the first period, including a game misconduct against the Bruins' A.J. Greer after his crosscheck to the face of Mike Hoffman as they awaited a face-off.
"A pretty dirty play," Suzuki said.
The Canadiens got within 2-1 on the ensuing power play on Suzuki's one-timer. It was the first goal allowed by Swayman after consecutive shutouts.
Krejci's backhander at 12:16 gave Boston a cushion. Pastrnak earned the secondary assist to give him 95 points.
"These games against Montreal never get old," Pastrnak said.
Boston took the lead 4:34 in when Bertuzzi earned his first goal since being acquired from Detroit on March 2. And it was an odd one. His feed from behind the net bounced off Canadiens defenseman Mike Matheson's stick, then banked in off the back of Allen's leg.
DeBrusk raced past a colliding Joel Edmundson and David Savard and scored seconds after a Montreal power play expired to make it 2-0 at 13:38.
Anderson out for the year
But the Canadiens, last in the Atlantic, rallied despite more injury issues. While Montreal welcomed back Jake Evans (knee) after a 28-game absence, it played without Josh Anderson, who appeared to injure his right ankle in the final minute of Tuesday's win over Tampa Bay. Anderson will miss the remainder of the regular-season campaign due to a high ankle sprain, the team confirmed after the game.
"I thought we were the better team for most of the night," Suzuki said.
