Defensively, the woes continue for the Boston Bruins as they allow 14 shots on goal and trail the Montreal Canadiens through the first 20 minutes, 2-1. Tomas Plekanec scored his ninth of the season – a power play goal at 9:57 – and David Desharnis stopped the Bruins’ momentum with his sixth of the season shortly Tyler Seguin scored the equalizer at 10:47 (his fifth of the year). Here are a few observations from your’s truly after 20 minutes.

1. Although the results are a little different, the opening 20 minutes looked eerily similar to yesterday’s win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. While they had their moments, the Black and Gold could not establish any real momentum. Shortly after Seguin tied it, Pacioretty quickly gave the Habs the lead right back scoring just 16 seconds later.

While The Bruins have had some chances, they have not done enough to make Peter Budaj uncomfortable throwing nine shots on net. And against a backup goalie with first place in the Eastern Conference on the line, they need to shoot a little more often and not look for the perfect opportunity as seen in the last few seconds of the first – on the power play no less.

2. How sloppy has this defense been at times this season? Not only did they allow Pacioretty to give his team a 2-1 lead after failing to clear the zone, but Boston’s blueline has been turnover prone all season in the neutral zone and at times their own end. Tuukka Rask has bailed the Black and Gold with 12 saves, but the Bruins D needs to tighten up. Otherwise the Habs will find the back of the net a few more times and also find themselves in first place by the end of the night.

3. The Bruins have rarely put in a complete 60-minute effort through the first 18 games of the season. However, they have done very well in the second and third periods and are 1-0-2 when trailing after the first period. The Habs, meanwhile, are 7-0-1 when leading after 20.