Heinen nets first hat trick as Bruins whip Canadiens 9-4

Montreal Canadiens' Sam Montembeault (35) blocks a shot by Boston Bruins' James van Riemsdyk (21) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Jan 20, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Brad Marchand set a club record by scoring his 20th goal for the 11th consecutive season, Danton Heinen got his first career hat trick and the Boston Bruins rolled to a 9-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday for their fourth straight victory.

David Pastrnak added his team-leading 30th goal, Pavel Zacha scored the 100th of his career and the Bruins beat their longtime rivals for the 12 time in 13 meetings. Charlie Coyle and Jake DeBrusk also scored, and defenceman Brandon Carlo had a goal in his first game since being sidelined nearly two weeks with what he called a "little concussion."

The Bruins honoured an era of from the late 1980s to 2000 in this their 100th season celebration before the game.

"Nights like this don't happen very often," Marchand said of the Bruins' goal-scoring outburst. "It's great when it happens in that fashion when we're recognizing past players against a big rivalry team for us. It was a fun night and great to see how everything came together."

Marchand broke a tie with Hall of Famer Johnny Bucyk and Patrice Bergeron, who both had 20 goals in 10 straight seasons.

Linus Ullmark, playing for the first time since leaving a Jan. 9 game with an unspecified injury, made 17 saves as Boston which improved to 9-1-3 in its last 13 games.

It was the Bruins' first nine-goal game at home against Montreal since Feb. 21, 1933. The fans started chanting "We want 10!" late in the game.

"It's exciting. We love when the fans are into it," Coyle said. "It's a special night, honouring that before and playing against the Canadiens on a Saturday night. There's not many better things than that, honestly."

Brendan Gallagher, Cole Caufield, Joel Armia and Mike Matheson scored for Montreal, which has lost five of its last seven.

"The third period was hard," Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. "Every now and then this league will humble you. That's kind of happened to our team in the third period. That's OK. Maybe it's a period that will send us to a higher place. We'll learn from it."

With the score tied 3-3, Heinen skated down the right wing and fired a wrister inside the far post for his second goal, pushing Boston ahead for good 10:46 into the second period.

Coyle then tipped Pastrnak's pass into the net, making it 5-3 less than a minute later.

Gallagher's score sliced it to 5-4 before Pastrnak scored on a partial breakaway early in the final period, just over three minutes before Marchand's milestone goal.

Heinen completed his trick, Boston's second in two games after Pastrnak did it in Thursday's win over Colorado, with a power-play score midway into the third.

Boston has won two of three meetings between the Original Six rivals, with the season series finale coming March 14 at Montreal.

"It's strange but I am thankful that we get to play the Canadiens four times this year, last year we only got to play them three times," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said at the morning skate. "It's a rivalry game. It doesn't matter. Steep history here between the Bruins and Montreal for decades."

Before the game, the Bruins held their fourth Centennial Era Night, honouring a period they called the "New Blood, New Beginnings" years from 1986-2000. The highlight was halting an 18-series playoff losing streak to the Canadiens in 1988.

TD Garden fans booed briefly when a video tribute started with the Canadiens skating with the Stanley Cup before shifting to cheers when it showed success against their rivals. Hall of Famers Ray Bourque and Cam Neely held a banner that read: "Broke the Jinx" along with some former teammates.

Boston's defence was bolstered by the return of veterans Carlo and Derek Forbort, who missed 20 games with a an undisclosed lower-body injury.

UP NEXT

Canadiens: Host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

Bruins: Face the Winnipeg Jets on Monday in their fourth of a five-game homestand.

This report by The Associated Press was first published on Jan. 20, 2024.