Despite his Boston Bruins squeaking out a tight 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on the road on Thursday night, head coach Jim Montgomery was not happy with how the game was officiated.
The B’s received just one powerplay in the contest, while the Sens enjoyed the man advantage six times. Montgomery addressed the discrepancy after the victory.
“I don’t think we dodged a bullet; I think we took about eight bullets,” the bench boss explained afterwards, according to The Associated Press. “They had six power plays we had one. That is one-sided.”
Although there was a glaring lack of opportunity with the extra man, the powerhouse Bruins were still able to get the best of the lowly Senators in Canada’s capital.
And a big reason for that was captain Brad Marchand — who scored the overtime winner and earned a spot in Boston lore as his climb up the franchise’s all-time goal list continues.
Brad Marchand passes Ray Bourque on all-time goals list
Marchand broke a 2-2 tie at 1:48 of overtime; it was the star’s 396th goal, and moved him past Ray Bourque and into fifth all-time in Bruins scoring.
“It’s special,” the 35-year-old reflected, per AP. “I try not to think too much about it, but it’s special. I never thought my career would come this far and some of the things that have gone on would have happened. I’ve been extremely fortunate and very lucky to be part of a group that’s had a lot of success and a lot of phenomenal guys to learn from.”
The tally also happened to be Marchand’s 19th OT winner, tying him with legend Jaromir Jagr for third in NHL history. And he’s behind two other legends of the game — and fellow Stanley Cup champions — in Alex Ovechkin (26) and Sidney Crosby (20).
“I think the biggest thing is finishing off a game that looked like an uphill battle sometimes,” said goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who made 35 saves in the victory. “And it’s really special to get a back-to-back and finish it in overtime, so huge congrats to (Marchand) passing some pretty great names. So really, really good feel-good win for us.”
Although Jim Montgomery wasn’t happy with the officiating, he will certainly be pleased with the way his team responded. The Bruins will now head home to welcome the Philadelphia Flyers to TD Garden on Saturday.
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