Bruins forward Cole Koepke dropped the gloves with Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle midway through the second period of Boston’s 4-1 defeat to Montreal at Centre Bell on Thursday night.
Boston had a strong start to the game, outshooting Montreal 8-7 in the opening frame. However, the Canadiens seized control just 40 seconds into the second period when Christian Dvorak scored his 11th goal of the season to give Montreal a 1-0 lead.
Koepke, clearly frustrated by the early goal, also took issue with the neutral zone hit Guhle delivered to Fabian Lysell, who was returning to the lineup after being a healthy scratch against the Washington Capitals.
Koepke explained his decision to fight by saying, “I thought it was a big hit on Lysell, and they were taking it to us in the second period. I wanted to stand up for him, and also, I thought it was a good time to try and bring some energy to the team and flip the momentum.”
Although Koepke won the fight, his efforts didn’t change the game’s course. The Canadiens extended their lead to 2-0 when the Bruins got caught in a long line change, allowing Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield to execute a perfect 2-on-1 break.
The momentum from the fight quickly faded, as Montreal added two more goals in the third period from Brendan Gallagher and Suzuki. Despite a late goal from Elias Lindholm to cut the deficit to two, Suzuki’s empty-net goal with under two minutes remaining sealed the victory for Montreal, handing the Bruins their 10th consecutive loss.