BOSTON (AP) -- The Boston Bruins never knew what hit them.

The Montreal Canadiens scored five unanswered goals in a 24-minute span -- including Sergei Zholtok's tie-breaking score midway through the third period -- and beat the Bruins 5-2 Thursday night.

	Boston's Dave Andreychuk fools Montreal goalie Jose Theodore but fires the puck over the net.

The win snapped Montreal's eight-game winless streak against Boston.

"We got in at five in the morning so it took us a little while to get going," Canadiens forward Saku Koivu said. "Even when we fell behind 2-0, we were getting good scoring opportunities, so we never gave up."

Shayne Corson scored twice and Benoit Brunet added a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, who have won nine of 11. Montreal is 5-1 in its last six road games.

"We are fighting for our lives every night," Corson said. "Heart and pride sometimes are more important than talent in the NHL."

Sergei Samsonov gave Boston the lead 28 seconds in when he took a pass from Ray Bourque and beat Jose Theodore between the pads.

Eric Nickulas scored his first NHL goal 11:38 into the second to make it 2-0. Nickulas played his second game since being recalled from Providence on Tuesday.

Brunet scored one of the Canadiens' two short-handed goals when his slap shot beat goalie Rob Tallas with just under four minutes remaining in the period.

"All the goals were bad tonight," Bruins defenseman Don Sweeney said. "When they scored the fifth, it was embarrassing and put salt in the wounds."

The Canadiens tied it 2-2 with six seconds to go in the second, when Corson rebounded a Saku Koivu shot and tipped it past Tallas.

"The Corson goal was a heartbreaker," Tallas said. "The Canadiens came out in the third period looking for a win and they were the ones that played like a desperate hockey team."

Zholtok's 21st goal, scored with 8:11 left, gave the Canadiens the lead. Corson and Martin Rucinsky, who also scored short-handed, had goals 3:48 apart to make it 5-2.

"We controlled the hockey game for 37 minutes, but can't seem to find the answers," Bruins coach Pat Burns said. "You can't bench everybody."

Tallas made 30 saves and has a 5.05 career goals-against-average against Montreal. Theodore stopped 23 Bruins shots.

Boston has won only three home games since Nov. 18. The Bruins have eight victories in 40 home contests.