The playoff feel to Monday night's game that was evident throughout the first period returned in the third, as the Bruins started to period off by killing the remaining 2:47 on Benoit Pouliot's high-sticking penalty against PK Subban.
Outstanding goaltending by Tim Thomas and Carey Price was again evident as the Canadiens spent a vast majority of the period on the attack. A Bruins counter-attack materialized with about seven minutes remaining in the period when David Krejci found Milan Lucic on a partial break, but Lucic couldn't beat Price.
Minutes later, a blind pass by Tyler Seguin found Brad Marchand, who tried to beat Price high but had no luck.
The Habs would set up shop in the Bruins' zone again after a timeout with 5:00 to play in the period, but the Bruins continued to push them to the outside when they gained the zone, forcing bad-angle shots and tough looks.
A Rich Peverley cross-checking penalty at 18:21 gave the Canadiens a chance to get the tying marker, and they didn't take it for granted.
Thomas stood his ground in net over the first 40 seconds of the penalty kill, and the Bruins were aided by two big faceoff wins by Patrice Bergeron that allowed Boston to clear the zone. Bergeron also nearly managed to record an empty-net goal, but the puck that he shot from 175 feet away just sneaked past the far goalpost.
A strong forecheck by Chris Kelly forced Montreal to retreat deeper into their own end, and in their urgency to gain the attacking zone, the Habs were whistley for an offsides call with 11.4 seconds remaining in the game.
Boston killed the remainder of the game off to escape with a 1-0 win and extend their win streak to nine, vaulting them into first in the Northeast Division and second in the Eastern Conference.