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Channel: Tomas Plekanec – Montreal Gazette
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Canadiens break 2-2 tie late in third period to beat Bruins 4-2

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The skinny: David Desharnais scored a power-play goal with 1:08 remaining as the Canadiens used another strong third-period performance to come from behind and defeat the Boston Bruins 4-2 Saturday night at the Bell Centre. Lars Eller tapped in a rebound of a shot by Alex Galchenyuk to tie the score at 2-2 at 8:58 and Max Pacioretty completed the scoring with an empty-net goal. Backup goaltender Mike Condon made 29 saves as he ran his record to 6-0-1. Bruins backup Jonas Gustavsson made 29 saves in a losing effort. Boston coach Claude Julien elected to go with the man they call The Monster because No. 1 goaltender has a dismal 3-14-3 record against the Canadiens. Gustavsson suffered his first loss of the season after three wins.

Successful challenge: The Canadiens thought they had a tying goal at 4:01 of the third period when Tomas Plekanec put the puck in during a scramble in front. But Julien challenged the goal and the video replay showed that Brendan Gallagher — who else? — interfered with Gustavsson.

Turning things upside down: The Bruins borrowed a page from the Canadiens’ playbook in the first period as they dominated the puck possession, outshot Montreal 12-6 and took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Loui Eriksson at 1:50. Eriksson was in front of the net to tip a shot by Patrice Bergeron after the Canadiens were penalized for having too many men on the ice. The Canadiens took all three penalties handed out in the period.

Getting even: The Canadiens had their first opportunity to face the worst penalty-killing unit in the NHL when David Krejci was called for hooking 19 seconds into the second period. Plekanec tied the score at 1-1 when Gallagher found him in the slot at 1:09. It was Plekanec’s seventh goal of the season.

Impressive debut: Frank Vatrano made his NHL debut a memorable one. Vatrano, who was on the receiving end of a hard check from Alexei Emelin in the first period, bounced back to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead at 8:51 of the second period. Vatrano, who beat Condon with a low shot from the blue line, led the American Hockey League with 10 goals in 10 games with Providence.

Winter is coming: Players from both teams wore toques during the warmup. It’s a reminder they will be playing in the annual NHL Winter Classic in Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., on New Year’s Day. On Friday, the Canadiens unveiled the jersey they will wear in the game and it’s available now for $250, with replica jerseys going for $140.

Coming attractions: The Canadiens will travel to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for the family trip with the players’ dads coming along for the ride. The Canadiens return home Saturday to face the Colorado Avalanche.

 phickey@montrealgazette.com

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