The Bruins were an overtime breakaway away from capturing five of a possible six points on a dreaded three games in four nights road trip. And with Tuesday being the second leg of a traveling back-to-back, and against a Montreal club the Bruins are chasing in the standings, a goal would’ve been beyond sweet for Marco Sturm’s club.
Instead, though, the Bruins had to settle for just one point, as it was Montreal’s Cole Caufield who beat the Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman with less than a minute remaining in overtime. Any loss to the Canadiens will sting for the Bruins, but it was a performance that left Sturm looking for the positives in a largely even showdown.
“Guys worked extremely hard for 60 minutes,” Sturm said following the loss. “Not one moment, but not really a stretch [of bad play]. Coming in here on a back-to-back in Montreal [and] to have a game like this, give my guys a lot of credit. They worked.
“They worked, and unfortunately we had it, too. Sometimes it’s not on our side. But I’m proud of my guys, it’s a good road trip.”
Here’s a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game…
3rd Star: Lane Hutson
Mar 17, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Canadiens right wing Cole Caufield (13) celebrates his goal in overtime with defenseman Lane Hutson (48) against the Bruins at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac/Imagn Images)
One of the best puck-moving defenders in hockey, the 5-foot-9 Lane Hutson was in his bag for the Canadiens In this one, with a pair of assists in the win. Hutson had the shot that Josh Anderson tipped to tie this game at 2-2 late in the second period, and the secondary helper on Caufield’s overtime winner. The Canadiens also seemed to downright dominate the puck whenever Hutson was out there.
2nd Star: Pavel Zacha
Mar 17, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) celebrates his goal against Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes (75) during the first period at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac/Imagn Images)
While the Carlo-to-Toronto trade is showing some early signs of being an incredibly promising trade for the Bruins, is there any doubt as to the Erik Haula for Pavel Zacha one-for-one swap in 2022 being the best move of the Don Sweeney era?
Now in his fourth season with the Black and Gold, Zacha has set yet another career high with the Bruins, this time with 22 goals on the season. That, of course, came courtesy of what was a two-goal night in Montreal for Zacha.
Zacha has also proven to be Boston’s best scoring option since coming out of the Olympic break, with seven goals and 12 points in 11 games post-Olympics. His 12 points are tied for the 24th-most in the NHL over that span, while his seven goals over that 11-game sample are tied for the ninth-most among all NHL skaters.
1st Star: Nick Suzuki
Mar 17, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Canadiens center Nick Suzuki (14) celebrates with his teammates his goal against the Boston Bruins during the first period at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac/Imagn Images)
With a goal to kick things off and an assist on the overtime win, Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki was everything Montreal needed him to be in this victory.
In addition to the two points, Suzuki led the Canadiens with nine shot attempts and six individual scoring chances generate at five-on-five play. The Canadiens as a team, meanwhile, controlled shot attempts 29-12 with Suzuki on the ice at evens.