Marchand gets hat trick in Bruins win against Canadiens

BOSTON -- Brad Marchand scored his fifth NHL hat trick for the Boston Bruins in a 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens at TD Garden on Wednesday.

Marchand has scored eight goals in his past four games.
"I think we have good momentum going for us now," Marchand said. "Hopefully it continues all year, but I'm sure there'll be times where it's going against us and we have to find a way to get it back. That's just how the season goes."

Curtis Lazar had two goals and an assist, Patrice Bergeron had two assists, and Linus Ullmark made 24 saves for Boston (20-11-2), which has won three straight and six of its past seven.
"It's tough to score five goals every night in this league. Nobody does," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "At the start of the year, there were games that we'd walk out, and their goalie would be the first star. That hasn't happened as much lately."
Michael Pezzetta scored for Montreal (7-24-4), which was playing its first game since Jan. 1 because of a COVID-19 pause. Jake Allen allowed two goals on seven shots before leaving with an undisclosed injury in the first period. He was replaced by Sam Montembeault, who made 31 saves.
"It's tough to come off a break like that," Canadiens defenseman Jeff Petry said. "It's hard to jump right into that compete and that battle. I think that's what hurt us tonight. … They're playing well, and they're rolling."
Marchand gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 14:43 of the first. Tomas Nosek kept the puck in at the point before sending a backdoor pass to Marchand, who had skated in from off the bench to the right post.
Marchand scored again 15 seconds later to make it 2-0. Canadiens defenseman David Savard blocked Craig Smith's one-timer, and the puck ricocheted off the glass behind the net before Marchand batted it five-hole on Allen.
During the final media timeout of the first period, Allen appeared to be in some discomfort and was pulled from the game.
Canadiens coach Dominique Ducharme did not have an update on his goalie other than saying, "Do not expect to see Allen in net tomorrow night (at the Chicago Blackhawks)."
Lazar extended the lead to 3-0 at 19:10 of the first when Jake DeBrusk's shot from the top of the right circle deflected in off his left shin while he was battling with Christian Dvorak for position in front.

Marchand completed the hat trick with a shorthanded goal to make it 4-0 at 7:10 of the second, scoring on the rebound of John Moore's initial shot.
"We've all been focusing on it more recently," Marchand said of getting to the dirty areas. "It's something that we've had to add to our game. We were getting a lot of shots early on in the season … and you know, the majority of the goals in this league are scored from there. So we had to get some more guys in front, get rebounds there again in front of the net, and focus a little more on being around there. Our group's been doing that since the break has been over, and it's really paying off for us right now."
Pezzetta made it 4-1 at 10:46 of the second with a turnaround shot after Brett Kulak's attempt from the point hit him in front.
"I definitely like playing against [Boston]," said Pezzetta, who has scored both of his goals this season against the Bruins. "It's a good challenge, and they're a great hockey team. … It's definitely a tough game to be a part of. There's lots of hard play, which I like, but obviously it wasn't the outcome we wanted today."
Lazar was credited with his second goal when Urho Vaakanainen's shot from the right point deflected off him in front at 10:19 of the third period for the 5-1 final.
"I'm just kind of seeing the game differently out there, where you know I'm seeing my plays, being strong on the puck, and it's nice to get rewarded for those chances," Lazar said. "But I think you guys know me. I'm kind of that blue-collar player that just plays hard both ways and I just hope for the best. I'm not going to reinvent the wheel out there. So to get rewarded playing the right way, it feels really good."
NOTES: Marchand has scored 33 shorthanded goals in his career, tying Brian Rolston and Guy Carbonneau for 14th in NHL history. … Only David Pastrnak (10) and Bergeron (seven) have more hat tricks than Marchand in Bruins history. … Moore left the game after sustaining an upper-body injury on Pezzetta's goal in the second period. There was no update postgame. … Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, who signed a one-year, $1 million contract on Tuesday, is expected to make his season debut against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday.