Recap: Goals, goals and more goals in Bruins’ 9-4 win over Canadiens

Heinen records first career hat trick in win.

It was a goal frenzy as the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens at the TD Garden on Saturday night which included Danton Heinen’s first career hat trick.

On a night honoring the Bruins’ team who “broke the jinx” against the Canadiens (among the 1986-2000 era), it felt only fitting for the game to play out how it did.

A back-and-forth game for the first two periods, the Bruins’ offense had to compensate for defensive woes.

But the offense broke through and in a big way with the nine-goal showing — which had 16 players contribute at least one point during the game.

Here are the highlights!

First period:

The Canadiens took the lead at 9:18 of the first period on the power play.

Cole Caufield plays the bouncing puck, controls it and gets a wrister past Linus Ullmark. 1-0 Canadiens.

The Bruins tied the game at 12:47 of the first period.

Skating into the offensive zone, Trent Frederic found Brandon Carlo crashing the net where he got his stick on the puck enough to put a goal past Sam Montembeault’s glove. 1-1 game.

The Canadiens regained their lead at 15:00 of the first period.

Joshua Roy sent a pass to Joel Armia crashing the slot for a tip shot past Ullmark’s glove. 2-1 Canadiens.

The Bruins tied the game at 18:10 of the first period.

James van Riemsdyk won a puck battle along the board to get it loose to Jake DeBrusk who then snuck a shot between the post and Montembeault. 2-2 game.

The Bruins took the lead at 19:05 of the first period.

Matt Grzelcyk threw a shot on net from the point which hit Danton Heinen’s stick out front and into the net. 3-2 Bruins.

Second period:

The Canadiens tied the game at 6:16 of the second period on the power play.

Sean Monahan found Mike Matheson in the high slot where he put a quick wrist shot past Ullmark’s glove. 3-3 game.

The Bruins regained the lead at 10:46 of the second period with Heinen’s second goal of the night.

Hampus Lindholm found Jesper Boqvist along the boards who sent a short pass to Heinen exploding with speed. Heinen skated through the neutral zone and into the offensive zone to let a wrist shot go at the top of the right-wing circle and over Montembeault’s blocker shoulder. 4-3 Bruins.

The Bruins took a two-goal lead at 11:35 of the second period.

David Pastrnak sent a forwarding pass to Charlie Coyle heading to the slot where one-handed, he tapped a shot past Montembeault. 5-3 Bruins.

The Canadiens bounced back at 13:39 of the second period.

Out front, Brendan Gallagher beat Ullmark low past his left skate. 5-4 game.

Third period:

The Bruins took a two-goal lead at 1:36 of the third period.

Pastrnak flew down ice, stayed strong on the puck and picked up his own rebound. 6-4 Bruins.

The Bruins extended their lead at 4:32 of the third period.

Charlie Coyle wrapped the puck around the net to find Brad Marchand in the slot where he put a wrist shot past Montembeault’s glove. 7-4 Bruins.

The Bruins cushioned their lead at 9:13 of the third period.

Jake DeBrusk sent a pass to Pavel Zacha who tapped in a shot. 8-4 Bruins.

Heinen completed his hat trick at 10:40 of the third period.

Morgan Geekie slid a pass to Heinen out front for a wrister past Cayden Primeau. Final score: 9-4 Bruins.

Game notes:

• It seemed like everyone was having a milestone night or a “first.” Besides Heinen’s first NHL hat trick, Marchand hit another 20-goal season while Pastrnak picked up his 30th goal of the season. Zacha also hit 100 career goals during the game.
• While the Bruins picked up another two points and had a strong offensive game, it wasn’t the best night for the defense. Whether or not Ullmark had some rust back between the pipes, the Bruins let up four goals on just 12 shots by the Canadiens’ fourth goal.
• Speaking of rust — Derek Forbort looked “rusty,” according to Jim Montgomery, but others like Matt Grzelcyk had a solid night.
• Only Forbort and Matt Poitras didn’t register a point during the game.
• Montgomery decided to throw Heinen out there on the mix. He said the team was unselfish setting him up for the hat trick goal. He said he actually spoke with Heinen the day before the game about how he was getting pucks to the net, but not burying them. Montgomery said he could sense Heinen’s frustration and reiterated how night’s like these with high-scoring are important to help guys feel better about their own game.
• And it felt like a Bruins/Canadiens game. The energy was out there on the ice with some big hits and that Frederic and Anderson fight.
• The Bruins return to the ice on Monday to face the Winnipeg Jets at 7 p.m. at the TD Garden.