Danton Heinen’s first NHL hat trick in Boston’s 9-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens, and the effort his teammates put in to help him earn that achievement, showed more about the Bruins’ dynamic this season.

BOSTON – The Boston Bruins had things all squared away midway through the third period against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Leading 8-4, Boston didn’t need any more insurance goals, only needing to run out the clock against a visibly defeated Canadiens squad.

However, when Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki slashed Charlie Coyle at 10:10 to set the Bruins up with their third power play of the night, there was motivation to put just one more in.

Despite not usually getting time on the Bruins' man advantage, Danton Heinen was sent out in an effort to get the 28-year-old forward his third goal of the night. Heinen entered the matchup on an eight-game goal drought, but he had scored two go-ahead goals before Boston blew the doors off in the third period.

With possession established on the power play, Kevin Shattenkirk sent it down the left side to Morgan Geekie behind the goal line. Geekie quickly centered it to Heinen, who tucked it in on the doorstep to make it 9-4 at 10:40 and secure his first NHL hat trick.

“It was nice [going on the power play] when he (coach Jim Montgomery) knew I had two there,” Heinen said. “And then great play by ‘Geeks,’ so that was nice of everyone trying to get it for me.”

The feat comes just one game after David Pastrnak delivered a hat trick in Boston’s 5-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche, during which the team made an extra effort to give Pastrnak the puck in front of Colorado’s empty net.

The Bruins have won four in a row, and Montgomery pointed to the team's support for each other as a reason for that.

“I thought, that’s one thing about the Bruins, how unselfish our group is,” Montgomery said. “I’ve said it so many times. It’s amazing how everybody cares about everybody else. But they continuously went down low to try to get it to Heinen, so it was nice. I’m happy for him, but I’m more happy with the way it developed and the way we continued to try and get him a hat trick.”

Coyle, who had his first career hat trick on Nov. 9 in a 5-2 win against the New York Islanders, heaped praise on Heinen’s character after he came in on a Professional Tryout Agreement (PTO) during the preseason and eventually pushed to earn a contract on Oct. 30.

“I was pumped when I heard he was coming to camp. I had a pretty good feeling we’d be seeing him in this lineup, and that’s a tough spot to be in,” Coyle said. “He earned a spot in training camp and kind of had to play the waiting game [before signing]. I give him so much credit.”

Coyle echoed Montgomery’s sentiments about the team being tight-knit and caring about each other, pointing to the team’s big reaction when Heinen netted the third goal.

Brad Marchand achieved a milestone of his own by reaching 20 goals in a season for the 11th straight year, but also took time to give Heinen his flowers.

“It’s always great to see guys like that have success and come out on the right side of it,” the Bruins captain said. “But I just love his attitude and the way he shows up every day. He brings good vibes, he’s great in the room and such a great piece for us, so you always want to see those guys do well.”

The Bruins will look to keep their good times rolling into Monday when they host the Winnipeg Jets.

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