MONTREAL (AP) Jake DeBrusk scored 25 seconds into overtime, and the Boston Bruins beat the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Thursday.

DeBrusk was set up by Bruins captain Brad Marchand, ending a high-energy night at the Bell Centre. It was DeBrusk's 16th goal of the season.

Danton Heinen scored in the first period for Boston (39-14-15), which was coming off a 5-1 loss to St. Louis on Monday. Linus Ullmark made 18 saves in his second straight win.

Nick Suzuki scored for Montreal (25-30-11). Sam Montembeault stopped 22 shots.

The historic rivalry drew both ā€œLetā€™s Go Bruins!ā€ and ā€œGo Habs Go!ā€ chants at the Bell Centre - and jeers for Marchand every time he touched the puck. The matchup has overwhelmingly favored Boston in recent years, with the Bruins winning 13 of 14 meetings.

ā€œThe biggest rivalry probably in hockey, you expect that,ā€ DeBrusk said. ā€œThe Bell Centre here has great fans. We heard when they had swings, we heard when we had swings.ā€

The Canadiens jumped on the power play with 8:53 left in the third period, only for Suzuki to take a double-minor penalty for high-sticking Charlie McAvoy a minute into the man advantage - leading to a mix of cheers and jeers from the crowd.

Montreal killed off Bostonā€™s power play, which didnā€™t generate any quality chances.

The Bruins defeated the Canadiens 9-4 in their last meeting in Boston on Jan. 20, and appeared to have the upper hand again early on Thursday.

Heinen opened the scoring at 4:49, sliding a rebound past Montembeault while falling after a check from Juraj Slafkovsky in front of the net.

ā€œHeā€™s a good hockey player. I know that he complements people,ā€ Boston coach Jim Montgomery said of Heinen, who was signed on a professional tryout in training camp. ā€œHeā€™s a real intelligent player that can play all 200 feet.ā€

Boston dominated the play through 11 minutes, outshooting the Canadiens 8-1 while holding the puck in Montrealā€™s zone for minutes at a time.

Suzuki evened the game at 14:37 with his 26th of the season, tying a career high.

Cole Caufield started the play with a relentless forecheck that led to a Brandon Carlo turnover. The puck eventually fell to Slafkovsky, who set up Suzuki for the tying score.

ā€œWeā€™re continuing to develop as a team, weā€™re playing well and weā€™re showing consistency in our performances, and our schedule is tough,ā€ Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. ā€œItā€™s a good challenge for us. Youā€™ve gotta embrace it when itā€™s hard.ā€

Andrew Peeke made his Bruins debut after Boston acquired the 25-year-old defenseman from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jakub Zboril and a third-round draft pick ahead of last weekā€™s trade deadline.

Peeke slotted in on Bostonā€™s third pair alongside Parker Wotherspoon.

Forward Colin White returned to the Canadiens lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury.

Montgomery said the game wasnā€™t ā€œa Picasso,ā€ but noted it was important for the Bruins to win this type of game late in the season.

ā€œI didnā€™t think we had our normal legs, for whatever reason, but our guys dug down and found a way to win,ā€ he said.

UP NEXT

Bruins: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday in the opener of a three-game homestand.

Canadiens: At Calgary Flames on Saturday in the first of a five-game trip.

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