Bergeron breaks tie late in 3rd, Bruins top Canadiens for 6th win in row

MONTREAL -- Patrice Bergeron broke a tie with 2:55 left in the third period, and the Boston Bruins became the fastest to 80 points in NHL history with their sixth straight win, 4-2 against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Tuesday.

Bergeron won an offensive-zone face-off before scoring on a rebound in the slot.
"We had a set-up play, it worked out well," Bergeron said. "The puck went to [David Pastrnak] for that shot and I was trying to beat my coverage to try to find a loose puck, and it trickled through a couple of skates. I got lucky on that one and got a good screen on the shot; I don't think [Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault] could really see anything."

Pastrnak scored and had three assists, David Krejci had a goal and an assist, and Jeremy Swayman made 20 saves for Boston (38-5-4), which has 80 points in 47 games surpassing the 1943-44 Canadiens and 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers, who accomplished it in 49 games.
"A lot of it is confidence. We keep winning, right? So, it's a big part of it," Pastrnak said regarding the record. "But at the same time, we are all going every single night. All four lines are there for each other and they're all playing together and we're a tight group."
Kirby Dach scored twice in his 200th NHL game, and Montembeault made 25 saves in his eighth straight start for Montreal (20-25-3), which is 2-2-0 on a five-game homestand that concludes Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings.
"We worked hard all night long," Montembeault said. "We were right there with them until the end of the game, so it's a little disappointing. I think the way we worked tonight we would have at least deserved a point, but we'll get back to work and go back at it Thursday."

Dach gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 9:11 of the second period on a power play, scoring on a rebound from the bottom of the left circle after Mike Hoffman's shot-pass deflected off Evgenii Dadonov atop the crease.
Hall tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 14:12, knocking in a loose puck at the left post for his first goal since Dec. 17 (16 games).
Krejci then gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 9:45 of the third period when he tipped in a point shot by Pastrnak.
"[Krejci] always says he's around the net and then, if I run out the place, I can just throw it there," Pastrnak said. "So, credit to him that he communicated with me like that, and I had a great view of it and good tip by him."

Dach tied it at 2-2 at 11:31, scoring on a rebound with a backhand at the left post. It was his career-high 10th goal of the season.
"I'm just kind of going out there and playing and just trying to improve each and every day," Dach said. "I'm not really worrying about results, just focus on feeling good and playing a strong 200-foot game."
Pastrnak scored an empty-net goal to make it 4-2 at 19:11, becoming the ninth player in Boston history, and the first since Tom Fergus (three goals, one assist; Nov. 5, 1983) to have a four-point game in Montreal.
"It's always a special place to play, a special team to play against for myself, but I think for the whole group," Bergeron said. "I think we all recognize the rivalry but also the tradition on both sides and it's always a lot of fun, it brings out the best in everyone. You can tell too Montreal wanted it and played a great game against us."
The Bruins have outscored their opponents 25-7 during their six-game winning streak. They've also won seven straight on the road and are 9-0-1 in their past 10 road games.
"We don't get satisfied, and tonight is a good example," Bergeron said. "There's a lot of things that we can do better in that game that we're going to work on and make sure we rectify for the next game. But I'm proud of the resilience every night to find ways to win games."
NOTES: Pastrnak has 37 goals and 69 points (37 goals, 31 assists) in 47 games, the second time he has reached 30 goals and 30 assists in 47 games or less (42 in 2019-20), joining Phil Esposito as the only players in Boston history to do it multiple times (five times). … Bruins forward Brad Marchand had one assist to extend his point streak to six games (two goals, six assists). … Hoffman has four points (one goal, three assists) during a four-game point streak and has a three-game assist streak. … Canadiens forward Alex Belzile has an assist in consecutive games since making his season debut Jan. 21.