Bruins Wrap: John Moore's Late Goal Pushes Boston Past Canadiens 3-2

It was a physical battle at Bell Centre on Saturday night between Montreal and Boston, but the Bruins came out on top in the final minutes.

Down 2-0 entering the final frame, the Canadiens mounted a stirring third-period comeback, but a high-sticking penalty proved costly as John Moore netted the game-winner with 2:57 remaining to seal the 3-2 win for Boston.

Tuukka Rask was brilliant in net, turning away 31 of 33 shots, while David Backes and Moore chipped in their first goals of the season, with Jake DeBrusk adding to his impressive stretch with another goal.

With the win, the Bruins improved to 13-6-4, while the Canadiens fell to 11-8-5.

Here’s how it all went down:

THE DROUGHT IS OVER
After getting a goal overturned in Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Backes made sure his next one wouldn’t cause any confusion. The right wing forced a turnover at the defensive blue line and wristed the puck past Carey Price for the 1-0 lead.

.@dbackes42 is on the board. 👌#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/FGUo01MBkE

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 25, 2018

DOMINANT DEBRUSK
DeBrusk netted six goals in his previous nine games coming into Saturday and continued his dominance in the first. The Bruins and Canadiens were on a 4-on-4 when DeBrusk finished off a pass from Torey Krug after a perfect give-and-go with an absolute rocket to beat Price for the 2-0 advantage.

.@JDebrusk stays hot. 🔥#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/SOwSSm1luT

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 25, 2018

PHYSICAL, FAST SECOND
Things got scrappy in the middle period after Max Domi threw a hard shoulder into David Pastrnak when the puck was long gone from his stick. Both teams played with intensity and had ample scoring opportunities, but Price and Rask stood tall as time expired without a goal for either side.

MONTREAL (ALMOST) ENDS THE SHUTOUT
Artturi Lehkonen scored what seemed to be the Habs’ first goal 28 seconds into the third to cut Boston’s lead in half. But a review determined Rask’s pad was pushed into the net while the puck was under it and Montreal stayed off the board.

MONTREAL (REALLY) ENDS THE SHUTOUT
Jonathan Drouin sliced right through the Bruins to find the back of the net at the 6:46 mark of the final period. There was no controversy on this one and Montreal cut Boston’s lead to 2-1.

Tout un but. 😳

What a goal. #GoHabsGo https://t.co/BMT8WnrJ6H

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 25, 2018

TATAR TIES IT
Pastrnak was called for slashing Andrew Shaw at the 8:15 mark of the third and it proved costly for the Bruins. After some spectacular saves from Rask, Shaw passed it off to Tomas Tatar who shot top corner to fool Boston’s netminder and knot the game up 2-2.

Le tir sur réception «Tuna».

The Tuna one-timer. #GoHabsGo https://t.co/k1cKfWinQ8

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 25, 2018

ONE “MOORE” FOR BOSTON
The B’s went on the power play after Brendan Gallagher was handed a double-minor for high-sticking Backes. That proved to be the difference-maker after Moore fired home the rebound for his first goal of the season to give Boston a 3-2 advantage and a win.