In their first 2013-14 visit to TD Garden, a goal from Alexei Emelin just over two minutes into the first period (his first of the year) set the tone as the Montreal Canadiens blew the doors off the Boston Bruins, downing the Atlantic-best B’s by a 4-1 final.

“There were three things for me: We didn’t skate well tonight, we didn’t make good decisions, and we didn’t execute well,” a clearly agitated Claude Julien said after the loss. “When you’ve got none of those three things you’re not going to win too many hockey games. So, that was absent in our game tonight and we certainly didn’t pick a good night to play that kind of game.”

The Habs jumped on the B’s early and often, and after taking a 2-0 edge on a beautiful finish from Max Pacioretty, the Bruins responded with a goal of their own, as Dougie Hamilton rifled home his fifth goal of the season, cutting the Boston deficit in half after the opening 20.

But Boston, a team that entered play with 18 goals in their last three contests, simply couldn’t build any sustained pressure against a Habs defense that stood tall in front of Peter Budaj.

“You’ve got to try to find a way to get back in the game, and we didn’t do that,” B’s alternate captain Patrice Bergeron said. “It is one of those nights, but you’ve got to battle and find ways.

“[Our battle] wasn’t there. They were first on the pucks and that’s how they got their chances and their plays. So we’ve definitely got to learn from it.”

And the Habs were first on the puck on their third goal of the night as well, a well executed tip-in from Brian Gionta, a goal that put an end to Tuukka Rask’s night.

It was the fourth time that the 26-year-old Rask got the hook early, and after stopping just 15 of 18 shots on the night, it was a decision that Julien didn’t care to explain following the loss. “That’s a decision that I make and I don’t feel I have to explain every time,” Julien began.

“This isn’t going to be one of those things where we’re going to make a big story out of a pulled goalie. Our team was poor tonight. So, maybe sometimes you pull the goalie for different reasons,” he continued. “I don’t think I have to explain everything to you guys for the reasons because there’s a lot of decisions that I make that are for inside that dressing room, not for everyone to share.

“As frustrating as it has been for the team, it’s frustrating for a coach, too. I’ve made my analysis on our team about tonight; I explained it to you guys,” Julien noted when asked if the Rask pull was made to generate a spark. “I don’t know that I need to answer more than that because that’s really where the issue was. So, if you guys want to look elsewhere, you’re looking in the wrong place. We didn’t skate, we didn’t execute, and we didn’t make good decisions. So, that’s where it ends.”

For Julien and the B’s, Rask’s departure made sense -- and didn’t at the same time.

You could make the case that this game would’ve been 4-1 in favor of the Habs after the first period had it not been for two outstanding saves by Rask. I think it's fair to suggest that Rask made timely saves when he had to throughout much of this contest.

Now, on the flip-side, the Bruins were so dead in the water at the time of Rask’s exit, and with Rask himself looking frustrated as all hell, the opportunity to get Chad Johnson in there could’ve been Damage Control 101 from Julien.

The switch, however, made little difference, as the Habs increased their edge to three less than two minutes into Johnson’s entrance, as Danny Briere made it 4-1.

One listless third period later, and the Bruins’ four-game winning streak was finished.

In the Boston room, the frustration was aplenty.

The B’s were honest when pressed about their effort, which could be considered subpar at the very best. They admitted that they were outworked along the boards by a pesky Montreal club, an undeniable truth. They even went as far to say that they just flat out weren’t engaged in this game. A truer statement probably doesn’t exist for this bunch.

“From what I remember, the worst game of the year,” Bergeron said in his stall after the night.

It’s tough to recall an instance where he’s wrong, either.

The Bruins were smoked in Detroit in November, and spanked in Vancouver in December.

But tonight was rough. They didn’t even show up.

Where did it all go wrong? Aside from the obvious no-shows throughout the lineup, I think that the problems for the Black-and-Gold may have started before the puck even dropped. After a highly successful week together, Julien and company ditched the revamped third line featuring Danny Paille at left wing, Loui Eriksson on the right, Carl Soderberg at center.

They instead opted to put Chris Kelly back in his familiar role at third line pivot, and dropped Paille back with Gregory Campbell (who moved back to center on a full-time basis after a one-game stint playing center and left wing) and enforcer Shawn Thornton.

The changes weren’t enough to spell out doom for the B’s as a whole, but it didn’t appear to help.

Campbell’s line finished the night with a minus-5, while Campbell won zero faceoffs on the night, including three losses in the defensive zone. On the third line, the chemistry seems to be an undeniable work in progress with the Swedes and Kelly, and the 33-year-old Kelly is still a player getting himself back into game-shape after missing 22 games with a fractured fibula. Obviously, Kelly’s a player that’s inevitably going to find himself back on the third line based on his defensive prowess, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be in just his second game back in the lineup.

To me, the switch seemed a bit rushed. But I’m just an armchair coach.

Up next

The Bruins return to the rink on Saturday afternoon to play host to the Edmonton Oilers. It will be the second and final meeting between the two this season, with Boston winning their last matchup by a 4-2 final back on Dec. 12. The game will also mark the return to Boston for former Bruin defensemen and current Edmonton Oiler captain Andrew Ference. Ference, a Bruin from 2007 to 2013, played in 373 games for the Black-and-Gold, and was a vocal presence and leader throughout his tenure with the club. Expect a nice video tribute and standing ovation for the team’s old No. 21.

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