Winter Classic: Canadiens sack Bruins at Gillette Stadium in dominating effort

“I just think it was a great team effort”.

The Original Six rivals met at the home of the defending Super Bowl champions for the NHL Winter Classic on Friday, and it was the visiting Canadiens and their locally grown goaltender who managed to mimic the New England Patriots’ success. His language is peppered with the inspirational coach-speak that surrounds the National Football League team, including the “DO YOUR JOB” on the back of that mask. However, even with all of the struggles the Canadiens (45) remain a point up on the Bruins (44) in the Atlantic Division standings heading into their outdoor tilt in Foxboro. You could tell in the dressing room, we all looked at each other and said: ‘Listen, we’re going to enjoy this a lot more if we win it. So let’s give ourselves a chance to win this, ‘ and that’s what we did today. He loved hockey, catching the bug from his father, Ted, who taught him how to skate and was a volunteer equipment manager for a local youth hockey program.

An American flag is unfurled on the ice during prior to the NHL Winter Classic hockey game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., Friday, Jan. 1, 2016. He has some offensive skills, but I don’t think he defends particularly well. “His brother was a big Bruins fan, as was I, but Mike was always a big fan of the rivalry”. I’m just trying to do anything I can to help the team right now. Bruins fans thought they could breathe a sigh of relief near the midway point of the second when the puck ended up behind Condon and in the Canadiens net but it was not to be as it was waved off because the refs had blown the whistle before it went in.

On Thursday, Condon’s father, Ted, who is a sergeant in the Massachusetts State Police violent fugitive apprehension unit, escorted the Canadiens’ team bus from the hotel to the stadium.

Their form leading up to the tilt certainly wasn’t good, but they seemed energized after a pregame speech by head coach Michel Therrien.

“You can’t undervalue the smiles that everyone had coming into the rink”, Gallagher said. “Tomorrow, he definitely has a day off. So he’ll be tailgating”.

The day was extra special for Condon, who played at Belmont (Mass.) Hill School before going to Princeton.

Hockey players make no secret of the fact that they’re the product of their parents’ sacrifices. “Too bad we couldn’t give the fans a little bit more to cheer for”.

It’s been a surreal season for Condon behind the Habs. Since the Price injury, the Canadiens are posting a below-average. He won his first four appearances, and opened with a 7-1-2 mark through November 16. His aggressive actions on the ice got to him and his team is down a man, playing with a roster a man short because they can not call anyone up to replace a suspended player. 889 save percentage, Rask went 6-2-2 with a 1.54 GAA and. 920 just twice after it dipped below that in his first seven starts.

FROZEN FENWAY: The last time the Winter Classic came to Boston, the festivities ballooned into several weeks of skating- and hockey-related festivities. But two strong starts in a loss at the first-place Washington Capitals and a 36-save win at the Tampa Bay Lightning solidified his spot.

“We’ve lost some games this year where we didn’t play our best, and it’s disappointing tonight on a big stage like the Winter Classic to not show up like that”, said Bergeron. Oh, and Seth Griffith did not do much either, and this was also the first game I’ve had negative things to say about Frank Vatrano. Not even any of Tom Brady’s Uggs.