Brendan Gallagher opened the scoring just 50 seconds into the second period, tipping a Joe Morrow shot past Bruins starter Malcolm Subban. Then, just 88 seconds later, Jeremy Gregoire put the Canadiens up by two with a strong effort in front off a shot by Michael McCarron.
"I'd say the best way to describe my game is combative. I'm not necessarily an electrifying player, but I'm efficient. That's my goal," described the 22-year-old right-winger. "I saw Mike with the puck and I knew where he was going to put it. I told myself that I had to go to the crease."
The Bruins rallied with three successive goals, though, in a span of 3:55 in the middle frame to seal the deal.
Alex Galchenyuk put Monday night's defeat in context.
"This is what preseason is for. If this was a regular season game, it would have been a different story. But, preseason is to get ready, work hard and go out there and be prepared as we can for October 5th," emphasized Galchenyuk, one of five Canadiens players held without a shot on goal, along with Daniel Audette, Byron Froese, Antoine Waked and Brett Lernout. "Obviously, any game you play, you go out there and try to produce for your team and get the win, but it didn't happen. We'll just move on to the next one."