Winter Classic 2016: Score and Twitter Reaction for Canadiens vs. Bruins

The Montreal Canadiens spoiled New Year's Day in New England on Friday by defeating the Boston Bruins 5-1 in the 2016 Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Paul Byron scored two goals for Montreal, including the game winner, while goalie and Massachusetts native Mike Condon stopped 27 of Boston's 28 shots.

Friday's matchup was a fitting one for such a huge stage, as the Habs and Bruins are the oldest rivals the NHL has to offer, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

Per Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated, Montreal's four-goal margin of victory was the largest ever in the Winter Classic:

Although the Winter Classic didn't play out in the manner Bruins fans hoped, the stadium was packed and the atmosphere was electric in front of what was a sold-out crowd, according to NHL Public Relations:

Despite having the advantage of the Boston faithful behind them, the Bruins came out of the gates flat in what was an extremely one-sided first period.

The Habs were engaged immediately, and that was clear just one minute and 14 seconds into the contest when David Desharnais gave them a 1-0 lead with his eighth goal of the season, as seen in this vine courtesy of the Canadiens' official Twitter account:

According to NHL.com's Arpon Basu, that tally ended a lengthy goal drought for the diminutive forward:

The early marker assisted by Dale Weise and Alexei Emelin clearly put the Bruins back on their heels, as they were dominated throughout the opening frame.

As Bruins play-by-play announcer Jack Edwards pointed out, that has been commonplace in recent years, with the Habs having won 12 of their past 14 meetings entering Friday's tilt:

The first-period shot totals were hugely in Montreal's favor at 14-3, but the margin was even greater when taking attempted shots into account, per Sportsnet Stats:

Despite the onslaught, goalie Tuukka Rask kept the Bruins in the game by making 13 saves. Escaping the opening period with only a one-goal deficit could have been considered a win for Boston, but it didn't take advantage of that good fortune.

Much like the first period, Montreal struck early in the second when Byron converted a fortuitous bounce in front of the net into a goal to make it 2-0 just two minutes into the middle frame:

The 5'7" center's sixth goal of the campaign was huge for the Habs, as it built upon their momentum, but as pointed out by Basu, it likely left a bad taste in the mouths of Flames fans since Calgary waived Byron prior to the season:

Despite Montreal's domination, Boston appeared to cut the lead in half on the power play six minutes later when Matt Beleskey found the back of the net. The goal was waved off, however, as it was determined that the whistle had blown even though the puck was never covered.

Montreal took advantage of that break with less than three minutes left in the period when Brendan Gallagher scored his 10th goal of the season in his first game in more than a month since returning from injury.

It was a gorgeous scoring play, as the 23-year-old star showed great hand-eye coordination by batting the puck out of midair past Rask:

The Canadiens entered the locker room with a commanding 3-0 lead, but Boston attempted to mount a comeback in the third.

After being denied a goal earlier in the game, Beleskey got on the board nearly four minutes into the frame when he redirected an Adam McQuaid shot past Condon to make it 3-1, per NBC Sports:

While Boston still faced an uphill climb, it was a significant goal in that it energized the fans, as seen in this vine courtesy of NHL on NBC:

That momentum shift didn't last long, though, as the skilled line of Gallagher, Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec struck again nearly five minutes later.

After Pacioretty set up Gallagher for a goal in the second period, the Habs captain was on the finishing end in the third as Pacioretty beat Rask for a pretty two-on-one goal that restored Montreal's three-goal lead, as seen in this highlight provided by Sportsnet:

While that goal essentially ended any hopes of a Bruins rally, the Canadiens weren't done yet, as they potted their fifth and final goal when Byron scored his second of the game with less than two minutes left.

According to Sportsnet Stats, Byron became just the fourth player in Winter Classic history to score multiple goals in a single game.

Winning the Winter Classic is always a major accomplishment due to the magnitude of the game, but it was especially big for the Canadiens on Friday.

Montreal entered the game having lost eight of its previous 10 contests, which allowed the Florida Panthers to pass it for the lead in the Eastern Conference's Atlantic Division. The Winter Classic victory put the Habs back on top, though, and it also inflated their divisional lead over the Bruins from one point to three.

While Friday's triumph may not technically carry any extra weight in comparison to other regular-season games, a road win over a rival in the NHL's signature game could give Montreal the confidence it needs to regain a stranglehold on the Eastern Conference for the remainder of the campaign.

Postgame Reaction

There was no shortage of excitement in the Boston area leading up to the Winter Classic, but the Bruins failed to deliver a quality performance to the more than 60,000 fans who occupied Gillette Stadium on New Year's Day.

Bruins defenseman Torey Krug was among those who owned up to the poor showing after the contest, according to the team's official Twitter account:

Rask, who allowed five goals, also commented on the game and made it clear that he was extremely unhappy with the manner in which it played out:

Head coach Claude Julien echoed those sentiments and lamented the timing of his team laying an egg against a divisional rival:

While it won't be easy to bounce back from such a decisive loss on a big stage, Julien challenged the Bruins to play together and move past the defeat in the coming games:

Although the Bruins will look to put the Winter Classic behind them, the Habs have every reason to build upon what was one of their finest performances of the 2015-16 campaign.

Their form leading up to the tilt certainly wasn't good, but they seemed energized after a pregame speech by head coach Michel Therrien.

According to the Canadiens' official Twitter account, defenseman P.K. Subban revealed the message that resonated so much with the players:

Therrien wasn't the only non-player given some credit for Montreal's big win, though, as Condon believed a certain NFL quarterback provided him with a bit of good luck.

New England Patriots signal-caller Tom Brady signed Condon's mask prior to the game, and Pats fan felt as though it may have helped him on the ice:

Helping out the visitors may not have been Brady's intention, but Condon was clearly inspired by playing in his home region and everything that went along with it, including No. 12's helping hand.

Condon was arguably Montreal's top performer, but all the players on the entire roster did their part in what was a complete team win.

That type of all-around effort has helped make the Canadiens one of the NHL's most successful teams in recent years, and that trend should continue if their Winter Classic showing translates to the remainder of the season.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.