So after seeing the Canadiens pour five pucks behind Thomas (18 saves) through two periods, coach Claude Julien showed some mercy, replacing him with Tuukka Rask to start the third.
“We were just terrible all over,’’ said Julien. “I don’t think there’s anybody that really played well tonight. We struggled moving the puck. Decision-making. Every mistake we made ended up in our net. We get a breakaway early in the game. If [Marco Sturm] scores, it’s a 1-0 lead for us. Instead, we blow a five-on-three, two-minute power play, and they come back and score a big goal. Everything wasn’t going well for us tonight. I guess you could say we were the perfect guests for the Montreal Canadiens.’’
Mike Cammalleri scored three goals in the second period, Carey Price stopped 37 shots, and the Montreal fans partied on Saint Catherine Street after enjoying the pregame centennial celebration and watching their boys lay a beating on the Bruins. The Bruins entered having won six of seven games. They had gained at least one point in their last seven outings.
“From top to bottom, one of our worst efforts of the year,’’ said Thomas.
Thomas? Not at his sharpest, especially when Matt Hunwick flubbed a clearing attempt in the second period and threw the puck into the crease. Thomas tried to trap the puck with his glove, but instead pushed it into the slot for Cammalleri to tuck into the net, making it a 3-0 game.
The defense? Careless with the puck, with Hunwick and Derek Morris committing giveaways that turned into goals.
The power play? As bad as it’s been all year.
At 5:34 of the second period, the Canadiens gave the Bruins, only down 1-0, a much-needed present when Jaroslav Spacek and Maxim Lapierre took roughing penalties. But the Bruins threw their five-on-three gift into the St. Lawrence River.
