After back-to-back losses this weekend, the Montreal Canadiens needed to get back on track as the playoff race tightened up. Entering this game against the Boston Bruins, the Bruins were only one point back of the Canadiens.
While the Bruins did end up getting a point, the Montreal Canadiens got the crucial two points after Cole Caufield scored the game-winner in overtime. This would be his 40th goal of the season, the first time the Canadiens have had a 40-goal scorer since Vincent Damphousse.
These are some of the top takeaways from the Canadiens win on Tuesday night over the Bruins.
Early penalty costs the Montreal Canadiens against the Boston Bruins
In the prior three meetings between these two teams, the one that had the better power play percentage won the game. It is not surprising considering that both teams have Top 10 power play units while ranking in the bottom 10 of penalty kill percentage.
Unfortunately, the Canadiens took an early penalty in this game after Alexandre Carrier was called for a double minor for high-sticking just 25 seconds into the game. The Bruins were able to capitalize on the mistake and took the early lead with Pavel Zacha scoring the goal past Jakub Dobes.
This game was the outlier as the Bruins converted one of the four power play opportunities while the Canadiens were unable to convert their only power play chance.
Nick Suzuki likes playing against the Boston Bruins
The Montreal Canadiens would be able to tie it up later in the first period after Nick Suzuki made a beautiful move right in front of Jeremy Swayman in the crease. It is his third straight game with a goal and fourth straight game with a point.
However, it is also a hot streak that Suzuki has against the Boston Bruins, as he now has 17 points in the past 13 games. In the three games earlier this season, he had five points after one goal and four assists.
While the Canadiens have struggled, this top line with Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky has been excellent. It is something the Canadiens are going to need to lean on if they hope to get back on track.
Josh Anderson scores his first goal since February 4th
The Montreal Canadiens haven't gotten much production from their fourth line this season but got a big goal from Josh Anderson that tied it at two in the second period. Anderson did a good job positioning himself in front of the net and deflecting the shot by Lane Hutson for the goal.
It was a big goal for the Canadiens, but it also helped Anderson end a drought as he hasn't scored since February 4th and it was only his second goal in the last 18 games. While the fourth line isn't expected to score, when they can make plays like this, it is a huge boost for Montreal.
Montreal Canadiens shuffle their defensive pairs with solid results
There is no question that the Montreal Canadiens have struggled in the defensive zone, and Martin St. Louis needed to do something. He did that ahead of this game against the Bruins as he split up the pairing of Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson to try to bring some more balance to the pairs.
In this game, Hutson was paired with Jayden Struble and Dobson was working with Mike Matherson with the third pair being Alexandre Carrier and Kaiden Guhle. The results are undeniable and it is something they need to stick with moving forward.
According to Natural Stat Trick, in 5v5 situations, the Bruins had only 19 scoring chances through the three periods. This is significantly compared to the last two games, where they gave up 27 to the Sharks and 32 to the Ducks.
It wasn't perfect and there were still some defensive lapses but this is something that the Canadiens can build on through the rest of the season.
The Montreal Canadiens have another big game with playoff implications on Thursday as they travel to Detroit to play the Red Wings, who are now two points behind the Canadiens.