Montreal Canadiens: Habs Set Tone With Early Scrap and Beat Boston, 4-1

One month ago, the Boston Bruins bullied their way to an 8-6 win over the Montreal Canadiens, a game that featured two full-line scraps and a goalie fight.

On Tuesday night, the Canadiens beefed up, then set the tone of the night three minutes into the game.

While Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban was bringing the puck up the neutral zone, Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk zeroed in, clipping the second-year star and sending him to the ice.

Canadiens center Ryan White quickly responded to Boychuk's shot, which Boychuck expected, as he quickly got up and dropped the gloves. White was hit with an instigator penalty despite the fact that Boychuck was headhunting Subban, something the Bruins did in the Feburary 9 meeting. 

The scrap, overall, was entertaining and crowd lifting, but more importantly, it sent a message to Boston Bruins that this wasn't the same Habs team from one month ago.

The Habs outhit the Bruins, were more physical and converted on two more power-play goals, giving them five power-play goals in the last two meetings.

Habs goalie Carey Price, who allowed eight goals on 36 shots in the February matchup with Boston, was terrific, allowing only a single goal on 31 shots.

Canadiens center Lars Eller, who was a minus-four on the plus/minus side in the 8-6 loss, scored two first-period goals to give Montreal a lead they would never lose.

Brian Gionta added his second goal in as many games against Boston and Defenseman James Wisniewski took a loose puck in the Bruins zone and slapped it past goalie Tuukka Rask, putting Montreal up 4-0 and giving the Habs their second power-play goal of the period.

The rivalry also took a turn for the ugly, as all of the 6'9'' Bruins defenseman Zedno Chara checked then-guided Habs winger Max Pacioretty into the glass, separating the two benches.

Pacioretty's head hit the glass, sending him to the ice, where he remained motionless before being carted off and taken to the hospital. Chara was given a game misconduct due to the hit.

In the end, despite the cheap shot by Chara and a late goal by Milan Lucic, the Montreal Canadiens outhit, outplayed and ultimately outscored the Bruins on their way to a 4-1 win at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

And if things couldn't get just a bit more interesting between the two rivals, they meet again March 24 back in Boston.