A Look Back: Bruins’ Wild 8-6 Win Over Habs

By Brian Kintz in Bruins, Featured ⋅ February 11, 2011 at 1:02pm ⋅ Post a comment

Head coach Claude Julien’s 300th game behind the Boston bench Wednesday was one he’ll certainly never forget, and neither will the fans that watched every minute of it from the edge of their seats. Arguably the most entertaining game in the entire NHL this season, the B’s and Habs added fuel to the fire of their rivalry, in an 8-6 slugfest that racked up a whopping 187 penalty minutes between the two teams, including 12 fighting majors.

Goalie Fight!

I’ll get to tonight’s game (Bruins-Red Wings) later in the day, but I have to keep going about Wednesday’s battle with the Canadiens, because there was just so much that came out of that unbelievable game. First of course, the goalie fight… if you want to call it a “fight.” Tim Thomas and Carey Price met at mid-ice and twirled each other around for a bit, neither really landing any good punches. Nonetheless, both goaltenders were assessed five-minute major penalties for fighting, which is pretty much an automatic any time the goalies leave their creases during an altercation. For Thomas, it was his first fighting major of his career. It marked the first fighting major given to a Bruins goaltender since Byron Dafoe back in 2002.

Horton’s Big Night

Also a bright spot on Wednesday was the career night from winger Nathan Horton. Horton has been snake bit lately, stuck in a scoring slump for much of the last month or two. His five-point showing against Montreal (one goal, four assists) was a new career high for the former Florida Panther, and it marked the first time a Bruin had five points in a game since Marc Savard accomplished the feat against the Kings, back in October of 2007.

Other Notes About Win Over Habs

One of Montreal’s six goals on the night came in 4-on-4 play, a situation they certainly feel comfortable in. That goal was the eighth 4-on-4 goal of the season for the Habs, tying them with the Islanders for the league lead in that category. Yes… the Islanders actually lead a league statistic… I was as surprised as anyone, believe me. On the opposite end, the Bruins remain the only team in the league yet to register a 4-on-4 goal this season.
Boston’s eight goals matched a team high for the year, reaching the same goal total they hit against the Lightning back in early December, when they topped Tampa, 8-1. The B’s, winners of seven of their last 10 games, have now scored six or more goals in four of those seven wins.
Ok, last note about Wednesday’s game: Boston and Montreal totaled 14 goals and 187 penalty minutes the other night. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time two teams had at least 14 goals and at least 180 penalty minutes in a game since 1981, that’s 30 years ago, in a game with the Washington Capitals and the Quebec Nordiques.

Tags: Bruins, Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens, Tim Thomas