The Montreal Canadiens fell 4-2 to the Boston Bruins in the first game of pre-season action for both teams Wednesday.
All of Boston's goals came against Montreal goaltender Carey Price, who let in four of the first eight shots he faced.
The Bell Centre crowd chanted Price's name during his pre-game introduction, but the chants turned to jeers as he left the ice to be replaced by back-up Curtis Sanford with half the game remaining.
Price's counterpart Tuukka Rask was sensational, stopping 36 of the 38 shots he faced. Nathan Horton and Johnny Boychuk also scored for Boston, while Maxim Lapierre and Tomas Plekanec replied for Montreal.
Horton didn't take long to make a strong impression in his first game as a Bruin. Acquired in an off-season trade that sent defenceman Dennis Wideman and draft picks to the Florida Panthers, Horton beat Price clean on the short side with a wrist shot 1:31 into the first period.
Bruins defenceman Johnny Boychuk made it 2-0 as the Bruins capitalized four seconds into their first power play. Tyler Seguin, the second overall selection in this summer's draft, picked up his first NHL assist.
Bruins Patrice Bergeron took advantage of a nice play set up by Daniel Paille as the Bruins went up 3-0 in the first period. Bergeron added his second of the night 2:17 into the second period after stripping Jaroslav Spacek of the puck and beating Price with a backhand-forehand deke while the Bruins were short handed.
Lapierre gave the Bell Centre faithful something to cheer about, as he scored short-handed make the score 4-1 on a nice feed from Plekanec.
Plekanec made the score 4-2 with a power-play goal with just 40 seconds remaining in the second.
The Bruins are on their way to Rochester from Montreal to take on the Florida Panthers, while the Canadiens are off until Friday, when they will welcome the Ottawa Senators to the Bell Centre.
For CTV sports reporter Brian Wilde's take on the game, click here.
