MONTREAL (AP) — Erik Haula scored twice, including a penalty shot, and the Boston Bruins beat Montreal 5-3 on Sunday night as the Canadiens paid tribute to the late Guy Lafleur.
The Canadiens celebrated the Hall of Famer, who died at the age of 70 on Friday, in a pregame ceremony.
Video of Lafleur scoring and lifting the Stanley Cup was played at the Bell Center before fans gave him a standing ovation that lasted over 10 minutes.
On the panels, the usual advertisements have been replaced by a simple tribute to Lafleur – mentioning his name, his number, his signature and the years of life: 1951 to 2022.
“It was a moving evening in honor of Guy. We felt Guy was with us in the third,” said Canadiens interim coach Martin St. Louis. “Like I told my players, you play so many games in the league, you might remember a few regular season games, but you’ll remember this one.
“On a night like this, if (the players) didn’t know what the Canadiens are for the province of Quebec. I think they know now tonight.
After the final buzzer, Brendan Gallagher led his teammates back onto the ice to salute Lafleur’s retired No. 10.
“It’s a big show of respect, I’m glad (Gallagher) did that. Guy deserves that respect,” St. Louis said. “It’s important to give that to the next generation of players. legacy is important.
It was another memorable chapter in the historic rivalry between the Canadiens and Bruins.
“The rivalry has been there for years, so every time we play against Montreal, we want to make sure we’re doing our best,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I’m sure they feel the same, especially at home on a night like tonight. We got the upper hand early and they didn’t have to quit their game, give them credit. They fought until the last 30 seconds it took us to put them away.
Boston’s Patrice Bergeron scored two goals, including one in an empty net, and an assist. Charlie McAvoy scored the overall winner. Jeremy Swayman made 23 saves.
Cassidy said the Bruins considered giving Bergeron the night off, but he declined in order to play in front of his family.
“He’s a legend in Boston, obviously. You know, like (Jean) Beliveau was here or (Jacques) Lemaire,” Cassidy said. “To do it here in his home province is good for Bergy. is a long year for him when you get to that age to play that many games, it’s game 79 for him and consecutive.
Josh Anderson, Mike Hoffman and Nick Suzuki scored for Montreal. Jeff Petry had two assists and Samuel Montembeault made 37 saves.
Bergeron opened the scoring for Boston by tapping a loose puck into an open net. He passed Raymond Bourque and was fourth in career goals in Bruins history.
The Bruins earned a penalty shot at 18:03 of the first period when Mike Hoffman hit Erik Haula. The winger skated the puck too much, but managed to beat Montembeault.
“I had to bite my jersey because I wasn’t sure how to react myself and the guys were laughing,” said Haula, who added that Brad Marchand wanted him to fail. “He was hoping for me to touch him because he had done it before so he wouldn’t be alone in that boat, but luckily I didn’t and I ended up scoring, but there was a lot of laughs. .”
The Canadians scored their first of the game at 1:51 of the second period on the power play. Anderson grabbed a loose puck in the slot and scored his 19th goal of the season.
Boston regained its two-goal lead when Tomas Nosek found Haula pressed for his second score of the game.
McAvoy gave Boston a three-point lead just before the second intermission with a shot from the point as the two teams played four-on-four.
Montreal recovered with two goals in the third period. Hoffman cut Montreal’s deficit to two on the power play with a one-time slap shot from the point.
Suzuki, left alone in the pocket, cut the Canadians’ deficit to one goal at 7:19.
Bergeron sealed Boston’s victory with an empty net with seven seconds left in the game.
NEXT
Boston: Host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday in Game 1 of two home games.
Montreal: At the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
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