Boston Bruins: Ryan Spooner shines in 3-2 loss to Montreal.

Jan 16, 2014; Dallas, TX, USA; Boston Bruins center

(51) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Bruins defeated the Stars 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Bruins took on the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre tonight. The Bruins allowed a breakdown in defense in the last minute of the game that allowed Drayson Bowman to score the go-ahead goal with forty-eight seconds left in regulation. The Canadiens retain their bragging rights over Boston (for now) with a 3-2 win.

There were good things and bad things to take out of the loss here. A lot of significant players were left in Boston, and the B’s are testing out their bubble players to see who is worthy of keeping the ‘B’ on their jersey.

Ryan Spooner was able to create chances throughout the game. He put up the first goal for Boston just 1:17 in the game, and almost earned a short-handed goal. He really set the pace of the game for the entire first period.  Overall he put in five shots on goal. He was nine for fourteen in the faceoff circle(69%). (That’s a vast improvement over his 40% average last season.)

Spooner was everywhere the Bruins needed him to be tonight. He spent 1:57 on the power play, 2:30 on the penalty kill, and 16:40 overall ice time. Ryan Spooner earned Third Star of the game honors for his performance. It’s safe to say Spooner has an early lead for one of the four forward spots available.

Matt Fraser had a power-play goal in the first period. He looked good with David Krejci.  He had four shots on goal and finished with a plus/minus of -1. He spent 2:01 on the power play, and 15:51 overall ice time. Fraser’s still in the mix, but he hasn’t locked up a slot just yet.

Simon Gagne was a disappointment tonight. Gagne didn’t put any shots on net, and earned four minutes in penalties (two for hooking, two for tripping). While he’ll still get a good look from the front office, he hasn’t played in a year and a half and it shows.

Chris Kelly wasn’t exactly one hundred percent either. Kelly had an opportunity to put the game out of reach for Boston and missed on an easy opportunity. Kelly went 33% in the face off circle as well. While Kelly pretty much has a job locked up in October, it was a let down to see him do so poorly.

Carl Soderberg went 77% in the faceoff circle with two shots on goal. Joe Morrow lead all Bruins with four hits.

The Bruins had a rough time of it last season when it came to goals scored against them in the final minute of the period. Tonight, the Canadiens scored in the final minute in both the first and third periods.

In net, Malcolm Subban went 9 for 10 in his one period of play (.900), and Niklas Svedberg went 16 for 18(.889). Subban had some rather fantastic saves, and Svedberg made some solid saves himself. While Svedberg has the lead at the moment for the back up job in Boston, Subban is still close on his heels.

The Bruins still have six pre-season games left to go, and the roster is by no means finished. The Bruins come home to the TD Garden to take on the Washington Capitals tomorrow night.