McAvoy and Coyle lead Bruins to 5-2 win over Canadiens

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A rare goal from Charlie Coyle broke a 2-2 tie as the Boston Bruins rallied in the third period to defeat the Canadiens 5-2 on Sunday at TD Garden.

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Samuel Montembeault, who was playing in place of the injured Jake Allen, stopped a shot by David Pastrnak, but the rebound came off the Boston road when Jeff Petry’s attempt to clear the puck in the corner hit Coyle’s visor and it bounced off the net.

Defender Charlie McAvoy tied the score when he scored his second goal of the game on a power play at 2:14 of the third period. Coyle added a sure goal midway through the period and Taylor Hall completed the scoring with an empty net.

Allen suffered a concussion when Dylan Larkin was pushed into the crease late in the first period in Detroit on Saturday. Montembeault conceded goals on the first two shots he faced, but calmed down and made 22 saves before Larkin scored his second goal to give the Red Wings a 3-2 win in overtime.

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Montreal scored the only goal of the first period when Joel Armia scored his first goal of the season at 8:09. The Canadiens came out of their zone and Armia beat Jeremy Swayman out of the race with a wrist shot into the far upper corner.

“I was happy to get him out of the way,” said Armia, who had 34 shots on target before scoring. “It has been a difficult start to the season.”

The Canadiens’ penalty killers were put to the test in the opening period as the Bruins, who had scored on 25 percent of their power play opportunities, had three chances but were limited to three shots on goal.

The Bruins applied the pressure in the second period, which has been the Canadiens’ Achilles heel this season. They outscored Montreal, but the teams traded goals to give the Canadiens a 2-1 lead in the final period.

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Montreal spent too much time in the defensive zone, but Montembeault set the tone early in the second period when he stopped Brad Marchand, who had a 2v1 break with David Pastrnak. He lost his shutout when McAvoy joined the run and scored on a rebound at 8:27.

The Canadiens have gotten some timely offense from their bottom two lines in recent games and the fourth row was delivered late in the period to put Montreal back on top. Adam Brooks, who was inserted into the lineup after Mike Hoffman suffered an upper body injury Saturday in Detroit, threw a shot from the point and Michael Pezzetta scored for his first NHL goal. Pezzetta put the puck behind Swayman and the keeper provided an assist as he kicked the puck into the net.

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The Canadiens’ disabled list continues to grow. Coach Dominique Ducharme said Allen will be evaluated daily. Brooks centered the fourth line, while Ryan Poehling was promoted to a top six spot as winger on the line with Christian Dvorak and Brendan Gallagher. He’s been experiencing headaches since he was hit in the head by a gunshot from teammate Brett Kulak on Nov. 2, but the Canadiens insist he’s not dealing with a concussion.

The Canadiens end their three-game road trip Tuesday when they play the New York Rangers. (7 pm, TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM) .

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