Martin St-Louis said he was disappointed by the myriad injuries that have plagued his team this season but proud that his group has shown fighting spirit despite it all.

The Canadian’s last game of 2022-2023 will therefore have been in the picture of his season.

David Pastrnak made the difference by scoring his 61st goal of the season in the third period, and the Boston Bruins defeated Montreal Hockey Club 5-4 at the Bell Center on Thursday night.

The Bruins thus improved their NHL record by winning a 65th game this season and inflating their haul to 135 points.

“There were ups and downs during the game but the commitment was there,” St-Louis said. It’s good for the fans. It was the last game at the Bell Centre. The boys pushed. I am proud. »

Lucas Condotta, playing his first game in the NHL, Nick Suzuki, Michael Pezzetta and Justin Barron scored for the Canadian (31-45-6) while Samuel Montembeault had 16 stops.

Trent Frederic, Jake DeBrusk, Dmitry Orlov and Charlie Coyle scored the other goals for the Bruins (65-12-5) and goalie Jeremy Swayman stopped 30 shots.

Condotta was recalled by the Laval Rocket to relieve Mike Hoffman, who was injured against the New York Islanders the day before.

Losing a soldier in his final game of a season marred by countless injuries was almost a given for the Canadians. Mike Matheson left the game in the second half with a lower body injury and did not return.

“We had a large sample of a lot of people, including maybe some players who wouldn’t have had that chance,” St-Louis said. Yes, there is the negative of injuries, but there is also a positive that helps us make decisions. »

The Canadian ended the season 28th overall in the NHL.

“We’re still in our infancy,” the head coach recalled. We will continue to move forward next year. I’m excited to see when we’ll go from how long will it take to how far we can go. I don’t know when that will happen, but I’m looking forward to that day. »

With the Bruins, Patrice Bergeron only played the first third preventively.

One last time…

Condotta stood out by scoring on his first appearance on the ice at 3:27 of the first period. He used a bit of luck as his shot went over Swayman and ricocheted twice before crossing the goal line.

Taking advantage of a Canadian scramble in their territory, the Bruins responded at 9:19. Frederic did it twice before pushing a hand-in from Connor Clifton in goal.

Montembeault looked poor as the Bruins took a 2-1 lead at 5-20 in the first period. A shot from Charlie McAvoy was deflected off target, but the disc returned to DeBrusk after giving against the boards. Montembeault never responded to the Bruins’ forward shot.

The Canadian turned the tide in the second half with two goals within 68 seconds.

Suzuki first deflected a shot from Joel Edmundson at 7:16 with the teams going four-for-four. Pezzetta then took advantage of Rem Pitlick’s generosity to shoot into a net dropped by Swayman at 8:24.

However, Orlov allowed the Bruins to return to the dressing room with the 3-3 draw. He beat Montembeault with a perfect top corner shot 6-02 in the second period.

Barron restored the Canadian’s lead after 69 seconds of play in the third period, moving the ropes in numerical inferiority. Jake Evans returned the puck in front of the Bruins’ net after a two-for-one miss and Barron fired a hard slapshot.

The Bruins tied again with 11:12 to go when Coyle taunted Chris Wideman before defeating Montembeault at the top end.

Pastrnak then gave the Bruins a 5-4 lead with 9:00 remaining on the clock. Installed at the net’s mouth, he only had to deflect a pass from Orlov into the opening to score.

Suzuki was the one who had the best opportunity to extend the debate, but the latter missed an open net after a favorable jump off the boards.

Dressing Room Echoes

It was Joël Teasdale’s second game in the NHL on as many nights, but also his first at the Bell Centre.

“There has been a lot of emotion, nervousness and excitement over the past three days. It helped me for games. It was special to play at the Bell Center in front of my family. »

He also hopes this experience will help him on his return to the Rocket at the end of the 2022-23 season.

“It gave me confidence to play with the Canadians. I’ve proven I can play with and against players of this caliber. »

For his part, Lucas Condotta struggled to express his feelings after a first game in the NHL.

“It’s a dream to play in the NHL and you have to be ready. Injuries are things that happen. You must be ready when the opportunity arises. »

As for the management of the team, we will have to wait until Friday for the latter to present its traditional end-of-season tally.

To see in the video