It wasn't the return Claude Julien had hoped for.
Back in Boston for the first time since being fired by the Bruins just under a year ago, Julien had hoped to exact a bit of revenge as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.
However, despite Julien telling reporters ahead of Wednesday night's game that he wanted to make the Bruins "not like" him in his return to the TD Garden, the Canadiens couldn't prove equal to their coach's desire, losing 4-1 to the red-hot Bruins and falling further behind in the race for the postseason.
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Julien spent over nine seasons with the Bruins between 2007 and 2017, with Boston being a powerhouse for most of those years. The Bruins won their division four times under Julien, and made two appearances in the Stanley Cup finals during that time. The team lifted the Stanley Cup in 2011, but experienced a sharp downturn in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons that eventually led to Julien's dismissal last year.
He rejoined the Canadiens, the team with whom he first became a head coach, a week after departing Boston.
With Wednesday being his first game back, the Bruins honoured their former boss with a video tribute during the first period.
Once the tribute was over, the Bruins heeded Julien's words from the morning skate. The 57-year-old told reporters that the game, despite his return providing a juicy subplot, is really just "two teams trying to beat each other to earn the two points."
While Montreal would jump out to an early lead, the game was dominated by the Bruins. Outshooting the visitors 32-22, the Bruins got goals from David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner, Brad Marchand and David Krejci to storm back for the 4-1 victory.
Boston has now claimed points in 14 straight games. It's the longest points streak for the Bruins since March 2014, when Julien was in charge.