After a 10-game losing streak, that matched the franchise's worst skid since 1925 (you know your great grandfather was a huge Bruins fan), the B's finally won a game, 3-0 yesterday afternoon at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Marco Sturm scored twice for Boston (24-22-11) and Tukkaa Rask, making his third start in a row, stopped 36 shots for his third shutout of the season.
The B's jumped out to a surprising 2-0 lead in the first period as rookie defenseman Andy McQuaid scored his first NHL goal with 2:28 left, assisted by Marc Savard.
Sturm doubled the Boston advantage when he scored off a rebound (from Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara) with four seconds remaining. His 17th goal of the season was a huge shot of adreneline as the teams went into the dressing rooms.
Rask stood on his head in the second period as Montreal (28-26-6) outshot Boston 15-3.
The fact that the Bruins had choked away two straight 2-0 leads as well as finding nearly every other possible way to lose during the 10-game losing streak, meant that nothing was comfortable until Sturm's second goal went by Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak (24 saves). Assisted by Bergeron once again, Sturm's wrist shot squirted through Halak's pads and lifted the King Kong size monkey off Boston's backs.
They're tied for ninth in the Eastern Conference with 59 points and they can move up further tomorrow night in Buffalo. They have three more games until the Olympic break when six of their players will go to Vancouver to play for their home countries.
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