It wasn’t just that the Montreal Canadiens put an end to the Boston Bruins’ six-game winning streak Sunday, it was how the East-leading team did so – with plenty of power-play time – that had Bruins coach Claude Julien ticked off after his team’s 4-3 loss.
“The frustrating part is you end up with 17 minutes in the penalty box when you should have been on the power play,” Julien told reporters after the game. He then accused the Canadiens of acting to draw whistles.
“There was a lot of embellishment,” Julien went on. “That was embarrassing tonight. They have over 100 power plays, and we all know why watching tonight. The embellishing is embarrassing for our game.”
Julien gave a specific example of what he believed to be the Habs’ theatrics.
“It’s pretty obvious when P.K. (Subban) gets hit, he throws himself into the glass and holds his head. You know what? We start calling those things for embellishment, maybe teams stop doing it,” the coach said.
“Julien was referencing a play in the third period when Shawn Thornton checked Subban in the corner, and then Subban held his head down while looking around the referees immediately after making contact with the boards,” writes Joe Hagggerty of CSSNE.com. “It wasn’t quite as obvious as the Nestea plunge he performed last season while lobbying for a penalty call, but it was obviously just as infuriating for the Bruins coach.”
In terms of being awarded power plays, the Bruins rank dead-last in the league with 61; the Canadiens lead all teams with 100. The Habs, however, have played three more games than the Bruins.
In their NHL-leading 160:38 of power-play time, Montreal has scored 19 times; Boston ranks second-last with nine goals on the man advantage.
The Habs (32 points) and Bruins (30) are currently the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
