MTL@BOS: Game recap

BOSTON – The battle for the top of the Atlantic Division was at stake Thursday night at TD Garden, and the Canadiens came out banging with a 5-2 win. 

Kirby Dach opened the scoring, while Josh Anderson and Jake Evans connected twice on each other’s goals to give the Canadiens a 3-0 lead. Meanwhile, Cole Caufield extended his point streak (4G, 2A) to five games with a goal, and Phillip Danault found the back of the net to bring his side up 5-0. 

Jacob Fowler turned aside 30 shots. For more stats, check out the NHL’s Gamecenter summary here. 

With the win, head coach Martin St-Louis earned his 175th victory as head coach. He surpassed Pat Burns and sits seventh all-time among Canadiens coaches. 

The win also gave Montreal 28 points, tied for first in the division with the Tampa Bay Lightning who won 3-1 against the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight. The team now has points in 12 consecutive games.

Roster  

Mike Matheson returned to action for the first time since October 27, making Adam Engstrom a healthy scratch.

Montreal goals  

P1 02:34 [1]-0 Dach (A. Xhekaj, Newhook)

P1 08:36 [2]-0 Anderson (Evans, Matheson)

P2 04:24 [3]-0 Evans (Anderson)

P2 08:14 [4]-0 Caufield (Unassisted)

P2 14:15 [5]-0 Danault (Bolduc, Carrier)

Boston goals  

P2 14:53 5-[1] Mittelstadt (Lindholm, Zadorov)    

P3 00:53 5-[2] MIttelstadt (Lindholm)    

What’s next  

The Canadiens will hold their annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night presented by CIBC Saturday when the Colorado Avalanche pay visit at the Bell Centre. For tickets, click here.