The Montreal Canadiens started the year off right on Friday, dominating the Boston Bruins 5-1 in the NHL’s Winter Classic in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
With the home of the NFL’s New England Patriots transformed for the festive New Year’s Day outdoor game, the Canadiens showed that they are right at home anywhere in the Boston area.
It was just the third victory in 13 games for Montreal — but their eighth straight road win against the Bruins.
Photo: AP
Left winger Paul Byron scored twice, while right winger Brendan Gallagher — back after missing 17 games with two broken fingers on his left hand — and left winger Max Pacioretty scored a goal apiece — both with assists from center Tomas Plekanec.
David Desharnais added a goal for the Canadiens, who got 27 saves from rookie goaltender Mike Condon — who hails from nearby Holliston, Massachusetts.
Boston’s Matt Beleskey tipped one in to spoil Condon’s shutout bid 3 minutes, 56 seconds into the third period — fitting perhaps in a stadium where the Patriots have never been shut out in 128 NFL games.
Photo: AP
Both goaltenders wore masks that paid tribute to the reigning Super Bowl champion Patriots, and Bruins coach Claude Julien paid tribute to the Pats’ canny coach Bill Belichick by wearing one of Belichick’s favored hooded sweatshirts.
Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask wore a mask bearing the likenesses of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and teammates Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Stephen Gostkowski.
“We wanted to pay tribute to their success and some of their players,” said Rask, who made 25 saves and kept the Bruins in the game until the second period, but fell to 4-15-3 lifetime against Montreal in regular-season games.
The game was the eighth edition of the Winter Classic, the outdoor game originally devised by the NHL to celebrate the sport’s roots.
In Vancouver, Alexandre Burrows scored in the first round of the shootout, while Jacob Markstrom made 27 saves to help the Vancouver Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks 2-1.
Burrows whipped a shot past goaltender Frederik Anderson to start the shootout and then Markstrom stopped shots from Ryan Kesler, Jakob Silfverberg and Corey Perry to end Anaheim’s three-game win streak.
Christopher Tanev tied the scores with 9 minutes, 36 seconds remaining on a wrist shot from the blue line that slipped through traffic and past Anderson.
Kesler put Anaheim ahead in the second period on a power play. Kesler was checked down by Matt Bartkowski while taking in a feed from Chris Stewart atop the crease, but still tipped the puck in past Markstrom.
Additional reporting by AP
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
RSS