Montreal Canadiens Top Boston Bruins In Pivotal Winter Classic Showdown

Paul Byron with two, David Desharnais with his first goal in 24 contests, and Max Pacioretty also scored for Montreal, which regained sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division over the idle and unbeaten-in-seven Florida Panthers. They scored on five of the 30 shots they put on Boston goaltender Tuukka Rask’s net, and they kept their cool when things got rough towards the end of a game they put out of reach halfway through the third period.

On one of hockey’s biggest stages the Boston Bruins were set to take on their rival from the North the Montreal Canadiens. Quarterback Tom Brady and coach Bill Belichick actually signed the mask Thursday and Condon wore it during the game.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure anything that Tom Brady touches turns to gold”, said Condon.

“I’m a huge fan of his, huge fan of this organization, and I’m just happy to pay respect to them on the ice”.

Condon’s best came when he robbed Ryan Spooner with a sprawling glove save in the closing seconds of the second period.

“We didn’t just want to participate in the Winter Classic, we wanted to win the Winter Classic”, said coach Michel Therrien. Though center David Krejci (upper body) and left wing Brad Marchand (suspension) did not play, the Bruins had the majority of support from the 67,246 at Gillette Stadium and were facing a Canadiens team that went 3-11-0 in December. “We hope it’s not too serious but when a guy leaves the game, it doesn’t look good”. This is the second Winter Classic for the city of Boston and the Bruins, and the first Winter Classic for the Canadiens.

The Winter Classic also marked the return of Montreal forward Gallagher after a 17-game absence because of two broken fingers he suffered while blocking a shot. They allowed an early second-period goal and were down 3-0 in the third period when they finally scored on a Matt Beleskey tip.

The Habs have come out strong against the Boston Bruins and are making their presence known in front of Tuukka Rask. When the other team scores a goal or a big play happens we need our best players to step up and make something happen for us. That game would be part of the Leafs’ 100th anniversary festivities, and surely such an angle would be played up, especially with the game taking place in Canada for the first time. The game, which ended in a 3-3 tie, drew a then-record attendance of 74,554 and perhaps convinced National Hockey League officials that an outdoor game was possible. The Habs lost winger Dale Weise in the second period after he was cross-checked by Kevin Millar. Before the game at the Big House in Ann Arbor, Heinz Field and Citizens Bank Park served as hosts.

Other Bruins players used words like “unacceptable” and “embarrassing” to describe such a lame loss to the Canadiens after talking up how intense the rivalry was headed into the Winter Classic.