Brendan Gallagher scored, had an assist and was a constant net presence in his injury return, leading the Montreal Canadiens to a 5-1 victory over the hometown Boston Bruins in the eighth NHL Winter Classic on Friday.

Paul Byron with two, David Desharnais with his first goal in 24 contests, and Max Pacioretty also scored for Montreal, which regained sole possession of first place in the Atlantic Division over the idle and unbeaten-in-seven Florida Panthers.

Matt Beleskey had the lone goal for the Bruins, who have dropped four of five.

More to come