When the horn sounded at the TD Garden on Thursday night at the end of the third period, the Montreal Canadiens celebrated a well-earned 5-2 victory over the Boston Bruins, which ran their point streak to 12 straight games and 9-0-3 in that span. It also vaulted them over the Bruins and put them on top in the Atlantic Division.
The Canadiens left little doubt as to who the better team was and set the tone from the drop of the puck. However, despite the three-goal win, head coach Martin St. Louis had an eye-opening quote after the win that should serve as a bit of a wake-up call for the Bruins, head coach Marco Sturm, and the Boston front office.
“It wasn’t our best game tonight,” said St. Louis, per Eric Engels of Sportsnet.
Wait, what? It wasn't their best game? I would hate to see what their best game looks like. How many coaches would say that after a game where they led 5-1 for 40 minutes and coasted to the win? Not many.
Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis drops honest quote after win over Bruins
I mean, it was a pretty impressive beginning and performance from a team that was clearly the more talented one, no? Sure, it's tough to do what Montreal did for 60 minutes, but sheesh, they out things away early.
The Canadiens scored two goals in the first 10 minutes and held a 10-2 advantage in shots before the first TV break. Talk about a dream start on the road in a key early-season game. Every coach would take that. Sure, the Bruins made a push late in the first, but Montreal goalie Jacob Fowler came up with some big and timely saves.
In the second period, Montreal took advantage of two breakdowns at the offensive blueline by the Black and Gold. Jake Evans made it 3-0 on a breakaway, beating Jeremy Swayman between the pads, then Cole Caufield took a David Pastrnak turnover and buried for a 4-0 lead. Swayman was yanked, and Michael DiPietro allowed a fifth goal after the Bruins failed to get the puck out of their end. Summed up the night if we're being honest.
Sure, coaches are not happy sometimes with how their team plays in a win, and that was the case for St. Louis. We see it sometimes with Marco Sturm. However, if that wasn't Montreal's best, and there are three more matchups left on the 2026-27 schedule, that should serve as a wake-up call for the Bruins and management that there is still a rather big gap talent-wise between the two rosters.
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