The stakes were drastically different for Boston's first meeting with St. Louis this season. Regardless, the Bruins made sure the Blues left town with a loss this time.
David Pastrnak scored his team-leading 11th goal, Tuukka Rask stopped 26 shots for his second shutout this season and the host Boston Bruins beat the defending NHL champion St. Louis Blues 3-0 Saturday night.
It was the first meeting between the teams since St. Louis won its first Cup last season, skating with the trophy around the TD Garden ice in Boston on June 12 after a 4-1 victory in Game 7.
Zdeno Chara set the tone on the opening shift, when he leveled winger Oskar Sundqvist in front of the Blues bench. Linemate Brayden Schenn skated in to defend Sundqvist and was sent to the penalty box with Chara, both for roughing.
"I think it does when it's Z," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said when asked if the play had an impact on the game. "Against a physical opponent, we knew they're going to come out and bang — and they did. I think it's important for us to initiate and not retaliate."
Montreal 5, Toronto 2: Jonathan Drouin scored two goals on breakaways, leading the host Canadiens past the Maple Leafs. The Canadiens broke a 2-2 tie with three goals in the third period, starting with Joel Armia's goal seven seconds into the period.
Anaheim 5, Colorado 2: Ryan Getzlaf's power-play goal in the second period restored the Ducks' two-goal lead in a road victory.
Nashville 3, Tampa Bay 2 (OT): Roman Josi scored the tying goal in the third period and assisted on the other two Predators goals, including Ryan Ellis' winner 3:15 into overtime. Ellis scored shortly after Nashville failed to score on a power play after the Lightning was penalized for too many men on the ice.
