Paul Byron scored twice, and Brendan Gallagher returned from two broken fingers to score a goal and add an assist.
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Bryant wins one last time in Boston
He reminded them all they needed to do was go home and win two games. “I grew up a really big historian of the game”, Bryant said. Bryant finished with a team-high 20 points in the Lakers 108-98 loss and said that he was moved by the cheers from the crowd.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – A large group of Boston Bruins fans were standing outside the New England Patriots’ locker room when Montreal Canadiens goaltender Mike Condon walked down the tunnel. “I grew up a huge Bruins fan and to see my little brother coming here and play the way he did is unbelievable”.
NHL Winter Classic: 5 storylines from Canadiens-Bruins outdoor game
So far this season, Marchand has been the Bruins leading scorer with 26 points (15 goals and 11 assists in 34 games). Needless to say, Montreal fans have to be pretty happy with how the New Year’s Day event started for their team.
To commemorate Friday’s game, Condon had the back of his mask decorated with images of Patriots head coach Bill Belichik and star quarterback Tom Brady, as well as the four Vince Lombardi Trophies the Patriots have won as Super Bowl champions.
Tom Brady, Julian Edelman have fun with Winter Classic on social media
The game started off fast as David Desharnais got a quick goal past Tuukka Rast off of a face off 1:14 into the first period. Eyewitness News spoke with several fans who said they are rooting for the Bruins during the big game on New Year’s Day.
Tuukka Rask had Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Stephen Gostkowski featured on his helmet. He missed Montreal’s previous 17 contests with a hand injury and the team struggled with a 5-11-1 record in his absence. “It was such a big buildup. But that wasn’t the case today”.
Before a crowd of 67,246 on a cloudy day with the temperature for the opening faceoff at 40 degrees, the teams dodged the slushy ice that has greeted other Winter Classic events. Organizers compensated for the lack of snow in the Boston area so far this winter by spreading white, puffy fabric over the football field.
It was just the third victory in 13 games for Montreal – but their eighth straight road win against the Bruins. When Gallagher is in the lineup, the Canadiens have scored three or more goals in 19 of his 23 appearances.
Pacioretty said Condon gave the Canadiens a lift when he made a glove save on Ryan Spooner in the dying seconds of the second period with Montreal leading 3-0.
Since the first was held in Buffalo in 2008, the league has expanded its outdoor regular-season schedule with the “Stadium Series” of games and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said this week the league plans to continue them. After practice, captain Max Pacioretty said the team was a bit more motivated to help Condon earn the win in his hometown. Rask took a shot off the shoulder midway through the third period and needed medical attention, but he remained in the game…. Friday they outshot and outscored the Bruins immensely, playing strong defense and pushing Boston out of their zone so effectively that there was a ten-minute period during the game where the Bruins didn’t register a single shot on goal.
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The entire Winter Classic experience went just about perfectly for Condon, but if there was one negative it might be that he didn’t get to actually meet Brady himself.
