Bruins thrive on power play to overcome Canadiens, Cole Caufield

Morgan Geekie scored two of Boston's three power-play goals, including the game-winner with 5:53 left in regulation, as the Bruins beat the visiting Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Saturday night.

Just 12 seconds after Fraser Minten's tying goal, Geekie gave the Bruins their first and only lead when he teed up a shot from just above the left circle.

Viktor Arvidsson also lit the lamp, Minten added an assist for a multi-point game, and Charlie McAvoy had two helpers for the Bruins, who won their second straight and eighth in the last nine games.

Jeremy Swayman backstopped the win with 22 saves, including all nine he faced in the third period.

Cole Caufield recorded his second career hat trick in defeat for Montreal. Nick Suzuki assisted on two of Caufield's goals.

Canadiens goalie Sam Montembeault made 17 saves in his second straight loss.

Montreal had a 25-21 edge in shots while going 2-for-3 on the power play.

While holding Boston to a single shot on goal through 17 minutes and just two in the entire first period, Montreal opened the scoring for the second time in as many games at Boston at the 6:36 mark.

Mike Matheson broke out of the defensive zone untouched and threaded the puck through two defenders to Caufield, who ran down the slot and snapped a shot past Swayman to give the Canadiens a 1-0 lead.

The score remained 1-0 at intermission thanks to Swayman's pad stop against Zachary Bolduc and David Pastrnak hitting the crossbar with a wrister, both in the final 90 seconds of the period.

The Bruins' second power play of the night led to a game-tying goal just 1:45 into the second. Arvidsson slammed home a Minten feed across the crease to the bottom of the right circle.

Caufield flipped the score back in the visitors' favor at 7:37, burying a one-timer from near the left goal line after a crisp puck-moving sequence with Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky on the man advantage.

Geekie made it a 2-2 game at 9:46 after Pastrnak's incredible play to set up the goal. The star winger flipped the puck up to himself as he cut across the middle and dished the puck back to a wide-open Geekie for a power-play goal.

The run of man-up rallies continued as Caufield finished his hat trick at 13:29, scoring another tight-angle snipe off a Suzuki feed.

Minten brought the Bruins even with 6:05 left in regulation, getting the puck back after a missed centering pass immediately as his shift began and slotting a backhand shot past Montembeault.

--Field Level Media?