Bruins defeat Canadiens in finale, add to NHL record with 65th win

MONTREAL -- The Boston Bruins added to their NHL records for wins and points in a season by defeating the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 at Bell Centre on Thursday.

It was the regular-season finale for each team.
"Well, I mean, there's numerous statistical and metrics that you can look at that makes this season special," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "But for me it's how much those guys care about playing for each other. That's what was special."
David Pastrnak scored his 61st goal, and Jeremy Swayman made 30 saves for Boston (65-12-5), which won its eighth straight game.
The Bruins, who won the Presidents' Trophy for having the best record in the League, finished with 135 points.
"You know, we took five minutes and celebrated it, and we moved on," Swayman said. "Yeah, we know that there's a bigger goal in mind. And it's definitely a feather in our cap for what we've accomplished so far, and we're going to take that confidence into the playoffs. And that's important because we trust in our abilities. That's going to get us through games when the going gets tough.
"But at the same time we're planning for bigger and better things, and that's going to be good experience for us moving forward."

Boston will face the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin Monday.
"They've played us tough," Bruins forward Trent Frederic said. "They're a good team. They've got a lot of star power over there, guys who can score and play, and they play hard. It won't be easy by any means, it's going to be a battle, and I think we're looking forward to that challenge against them, and we're just excited to get going now that we finally know who we're playing."
Michael Pezzetta had a goal and an assist, Lucas Condotta scored in his NHL debut, and Sam Montembeault made 16 saves for Montreal (31-45-6), which lost for the third straight game and seventh time in eight games.
"I think this year we were in the infant stage of where we want to be and next year we'll just be still further along," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "How fast we get to that, I don't know.
"But to me it's more like when do we flip? Or how long it's going to take, or how far we can take it? I don't know when it's going to flip but I'm looking forward to that day."
Bruins center Patrice Bergeron left the game after the first period for precautionary reasons because of an upper-body injury.
"Oh yeah, '37' is fine," Montgomery said. "He wanted to go back out, and I said no."
Justin Barron gave Montreal a 4-3 lead at 1:09 of the third period with a short-handed goal when he pinched into the slot to get on a loose puck and put a slap shot past Swayman's glove.
Charlie Coyle tied it 4-4 at 8:48, and Pastrnak put Boston up 5-4 at 11:00 when he scored from the right edge of the crease after Orlov's crossing pass.
"They were playing loose and looking for fast breaks, and they caught us a few times," Frederic said. "… But it's kind of back and forth and it's a tight one, forces us to play the right way, especially in that third period."
Condotta gave Montreal a 1-0 lead at 3:27 of the first period, scoring on a rebound in front after being recalled from Laval of the American Hockey League earlier in the day.
"It's a great feeling," Condotta said. "I'm kind of speechless. I don't know what to say."

Frederic tied it 1-1 at 9:19, and Jake DeBrusk put Boston up 2-1 at 14:40 with a sharp-angled shot after Charlie McAvoy's no-look pass from below the goal line.
Nick Suzuki tied it 2-2 at 7:16 of the second period. He deflected Joel Edmundson's shot over Swayman to the stick side with the teams at 4-on-4 for his 26th goal, tying Cole Caufield for the Canadiens lead.
Pezzetta gave Montreal a 3-2 lead at 8:24 with a slap shot into an open net off a centering pass from Rem Pitlick, who outraced Swayman to the puck in the left face-off circle.
Orlov tied it 3-3 at 13:58, scoring over Montembeault's shoulder from a sharp angle.
NOTES: Swayman and Linus Ullmark won the William M. Jennings Trophy, awarded annually to the goalies who play at least 25 games for the team that allows the fewest goals in the NHL. Boston allowed 174 goals (2.12 per game), with Swayman playing 37 games (33 starts) and Ullmark playing 49 (48 starts). … Swayman won his eighth straight start. … The Bruins-Panthers series will mark the first playoff matchup between a No. 1 seed and the Presidents' Trophy winners from the previous season since the award was introduced in 1985-86. … Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson left in the second period with a lower-body injury.