NHL: Montreal beats Boston in Winter Classic

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.

Then a man in the crowd hopped up on a bollard or something and began dancing so he could get on Sportscenter or whatever, the silly moo, and security kicked him out. The Bruins would take over play in the third, outshooting the Habs 11-5, but could not get any closer than 3-1. Sign up today and if you lose your first contest, you’ll be refunded the entry fee up to $10.

Some 68,000 people will file into a football stadium Friday to watch a hockey game, and by the time it’s over nary a one of them will have felt the need to step up to the Fan Services window to register a complaint.

Matt Beleskey put the Bruins on the board early in the third period on a tip-in, but goals from Max Pacioretty and Byron helped Montreal pull away for good.

For now, though, the venue itself looks like it’ll remain secondary to featuring prominent players, high-profile teams, and heated rivalries.

O’Regan did play some at Little Fresh Pond, but that was on the other side of town, in West Cambridge. “But right from the drop of the puck we were on the puck, we were on them, we didn’t give them a chance to breathe”. Without his team backing him as well as he needed, Montreal went up 3-0 in the second period.

“We definitely feel like we let everybody down”, Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said.

The Czech Republic team got taken out by Team USA (that has three Bruins prospects on it), and with that, Pasta is coming back to Boston to get cooked a little more.

Dennis Seidenberg #44 of the Boston Bruins controled the puck against Lars Eller #81 of the Montreal Canadiens in the second period.

Canadiens coach Michel Therrien tried every line combination you could think of in Brendan Gallagher’s 17-game absence from the lineup. Nonetheless, the Bruins should have at least had a physical answer, if not a skillful one, for the Canadiens. Still, the Bruins were zombies that wouldn’t have been enlivened even if Marchand, Ken Linesman and the Tasmanian Devil pulled on their skates and a Bruins sweater.

I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Winter Classic through a family friend, who had season tickets and gave the pair to us for the game.

It was disappointing that a team still built around veterans like Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Loui Eriksson could fail on such an epic level in such a showcase event. Torey Krug and Desharnais both got double-minors for roughing in the first.

The Bruins must look at the tape and improve quickly because their upcoming schedule isn’t easy. Their mettle in a playoff-level atmosphere was exposed as not ready for primetime. Also in the second period though, it seemed like the Bruins got a bit of their footing back. But the game is usually something of an afterthought – even when, like this year, it involves two rivals that are battling for position in the standings.

For now, they have to prove they’re able to move on from such an utter disappointment. What’s more, the B’s have a tough schedule ahead – a home date against Eastern Conference-leading Washington, followed by a lengthy five-game road trip. “Getting the first goal’s been a real problem for us during the (losing) streak”. Center Jonas Kemppainen, out since December 7 with an upper-body injury, took full part in practice, skating with wingers Frank Vatrano and Jimmy Hayes.