|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
BOSTON (AP) -- The Montreal Canadiens know the importance of
scoring first, especially with Jose Theodore to protect the lead.
Theodore stopped 39 shots for his second shutout of the season,
and the Canadiens remained the only unbeaten team in regulation
when they score first with a 3-0 win over the Boston Bruins on
Thursday night.
|  | | Kyle McLaren, right, and the Bruins showed their frustration Thursday, and had their four-game streak snapped. |
"Jose was fantastic," Montreal coach Michel Therrien said.
"When we take those leads, and he is making that many saves, he is
tough to beat."
The Canadiens improved to 12-0-3-2 in games in which they score
first and got their first win under new owner George Gillett Jr. of
Colorado.
They lost Wednesday night to the New York Rangers, 4-2, a few
hours after Gillett bought the team from Molson Inc.
But they showed no signs of fatigue as they took only 13 shots
and played a defensive game after Trevor Linden and Patrick Poulin
scored in the first period. Poulin added an empty-net goal with
17.6 seconds left.
"We played solid in front of our own net," Poulin said. "This
is the biggest night I have had in quite a while."
It was one of the Bruins' most disappointing in a while as it
ended a four-game winning streak against Toronto, Buffalo, New
Jersey and St. Louis, all strong teams.
"If you can develop that same sense of urgency against the
other (weaker) teams, I guess we'd have a fabulous record," Boston
coach Mike Keenan said. "It's a real puzzling situation."
In games against teams with the 10 worst records, including
Montreal, the Bruins are 6-9-1-1. Against the top 10 teams, they're
8-4-2-3. But they're in better shape as they head into the All-Star
break than they were when Keenan took over Oct. 25 for the fired
Pat Burns.
"We're coming together," defenseman Don Sweeney said. "We're
figuring out what it's going to take."
The Bruins are in the eighth and final playoff spot in the
Eastern Conference, while the Canadiens are 11 points behind in
11th. But on Thursday, Montreal controlled Boston's top line of
Jason Allison, Bill Guerin and Sergei Samsonov, all All-Stars.
"They are so solid and make you dizzy at times," Theodore
said. "It was good for us to be able to shut them down and keep
them quiet."
Theodore was impressive, though not in the way he was Jan. 2,
when he beat the New York Islanders 3-0. That's when he became the
first goalie in NHL regular-season history to record a shutout and
score a goal in the same game.
The Canadiens went ahead 1-0 as Linden scored his 10th goal on
their first shot of the game at 4:13 of the first period. He
connected on a wrist shot from the right circle, extending his
goal-scoring streak to three games. It was his third goal and
seventh point in four games since missing 12 games with a foot
injury.
Poulin made it 2-0 with his fifth goal. His shot from about 10
feet to the left of the net deflected off the stick of Boston
defenseman Kyle McLaren and past goalie Byron Dafoe.
Game notes
Boston is scoreless on its last 31 power plays over eight games.
... The Bruins sent C Andre Savage and D Brandon Smith to
Providence of the AHL. ... For Boston, RW Dixon Ward played in his
500th NHL game and Dafoe appeared in his 300th. ... Montreal was
outshot for only the 23rd time in 54 games. ... Peter Skudra
replaced Dafoe for 39 seconds midway through the second period
before Dafoe returned. ... Montreal C Chad Kilger went to the
dressing room holding the right side of his head late in the second
period. Defenseman Jonathan Girard received a double-minor for
high-sticking. Kilger returned in the third period.
|
|
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Montreal Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Montreal 3
Boston 0
Philadelphia 2
NY Islanders 0
Washington 5
Toronto 4
Carolina 3
Atlanta 1
Tampa Bay 4
Buffalo 2
Columbus 2
St. Louis 2
Calgary 5
Chicago 3
Anaheim 4
Phoenix 2
Dallas 4
San Jose 2
Vancouver 5
Colorado 3
Nashville 6
Los Angeles 4
|
