BOSTON — Zdeno Chara, a bete noire in Montreal since the hit that sent Max Pacioretty to the hospital, had three assists on Thursday night as the Boston Bruins turned a grudge match into a blowout and beat the Canadiens 7-0.
The win left Boston five points ahead of second-place Montreal in the Northeast Division.
Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell scored twice, and David Krejci and Milan Lucic also had three assists for the Bruins as they beat Montreal for just the second time in six games this season. Tim Thomas stopped 24 shots for his career-best eighth shutout and 25th of his career.
Johnny Boychuk, Adam McQuaid and Tomas Kaberle also scored for Boston.
Carey Price allowed five goals on 33 shots before he was replaced with 15:31 left following Adam McQuaid’s goal that made it 5-0. Price is 2-5 in his last seven starts, allowing 21 goals in his five losses. He was replaced by Alex Auld, who stopped two of eight shots.
It was Montreal’s second consecutive shutout.
The highly anticipated game between the Original Six rivals came 16 days after Chara banged Pacioretty into a padded stanchion, leaving him on the ice with a broken vertebrae and a concussion. The hit prompted Montreal fans to call police and demand criminal charges; authorities say they have opened an investigation.
The NHL chose not to suspend Chara. The Bruins captain said he has tried unsuccessfully to contact Pacioretty, who was released from the hospital after two days and is expected to be out at least until the playoffs.
Fans were scanned with metal detecting wands when they came through security — a routine measure, according to TD Garden General Manager Hugh Lombardi. Although he would not comment on specific measures, he said security was “heightened.”
“Typical Montreal and Boston,” he said before the start of the third period. “We like to make sure we’re on our toes.”
The Boston fans taunted the Canadiens fans among them, waving signs that said “Call 911” and mocking the cheers usually heard at the Bell Centre. But there were no obvious problems in the stands, and just one short fight on the ice between Campbell and Paul Mara.
The Bruins quickly made sure there wasn’t any suspense over the outcome.
Boychuk scored 61 seconds into the game, then Campbell made it 2-0 later in the first and Horton had his first of the game to give the Bruins a three goal lead after one. The second period was scoreless, and then the Bruins erupted for four goals in the third to chase Price from the net and turn it into a rout.
With under 7 minutes left in the game and the Bruins giving up a 5-on-3 advantage, Campbell poked the puck out of the zone and split the defenders to break free, beating Auld to make it 7-0. Another goal came just after the final buzzer, but was disallowed.
Notes: Chara has three goals and eight assists in his last nine games. … The Bruins signed Boston University junior D David Warsofsky, a fourth-round draft pick who was a former captain of the U.S. under-18 team and a star of BU’s 2009 NCAA championship. He was assigned to Providence of the AHL. … Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky was at the game as an ambassador for TD Bank. … Marck Rec chi had one assist to tie Paul Coffey with 1,531 points — 12th on the NHL’s career list. … The last time Montreal visited Boston, the Bruins won 8-6 in a game with 187 penalty minutes and a fight between goalies Thomas and Price.
Penguins 2, Flyers 1
PHILADELPHIA — Chris Kunitz’s shootout goal lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
Pittsburgh’s Alex Kovalev scored the first shootout goal. He was matched by Philadelphia’s Danny Briere. Kunitz got the final shootout attempt through the legs of Sergei Bobrovsky for the winner.
Philadelphia’s Mike Richards and Pittsburgh’s Tyler Kennedy scored goals in regulation.
The Flyers played in their fourth straight shootout and reached overtime for the fifth time in six games. They have won only one of those games that needed extra time and are losing their grip on the Eastern Conference lead.
The Penguins are five points out of the lead in the East and the Flyers hold a two-point lead over idle Washington.
The worn-down Flyers looked tired in overtime. The Penguins simply dominated and had possession for nearly the entire 5-minute period and attacked a battered Bobrovsky.
Bobrovsky clearly redeemed himself with a stellar outing in the loss.
Bobrovksy had a rough game Tuesday and was yanked after allowing three goals on nine shots. Flyers fans chanted “Booooosh” as Brian Boucher skated onto the ice. Flyers coach Peter Laviolette hasn’t committed to a playoff starter, but returning to Bobrovsky a game after a clunker could be a sign he’s leaning toward the rookie.
Bobrovsky made a stellar save early in the first period when he got low and staved off Kennedy with his left pad. Bobrovsky, who beat the Penguins on opening night, wouldn’t get lucky against him a second time.
Kennedy took the cross-ice pass from Kunitz and snapped a wrister from the circle and beat Bobrovsky glove side on the power play for his 18th goal of the season that tied the game at 1.
Flyers fans had given Bobrovsky a standing ovation after his stellar save on Kennedy.
The Flyers scored first when Richards scored a tricky goal that needed a review late in the first for a 1-0 lead. The puck hit skate-stick-net and took a fluky bounce over Marc-Andre Fleury’s shoulder for the early lead.
The Flyers took only 20 shots and couldn’t sustain a consistent attack.
For a heated rivalry — and with the season winding down — this game was pretty mild. Only a few brief skirmishes were quickly broken up and each team had a two tame power-play chances.
Kunitz provided enough excitement for the Penguins on the final shot of the shootout. He faked Bobrovsky with a wrister, then snapped one through the legs for the winner.
Notes: Penguins center Dustin Jeffrey left with a lower-body injury. He left at the end of the second period after a nasty collision with Philadelphia’s Jeff Carter. … The Flyers and Penguins play each other one more time on March 24.