Canadiens vs. Bruins: Game thread, rosters, lines, and how to watch

Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins

How to watch

Start time: 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
In Canada: Sportsnet (English)
In the U.S.: NHL Network
In the Canadiens region: RDS (French)
In the Bruins region: NESN
Streaming: ESPN+, NHL Live, RDS Direct, Sportsnet Now

For the first time since he traveled to North America in the summer of 2016 to attend Montreal Canadiens training camp, Artturi Lehkonen will no longer be racing around the ice looking to create scoring chances with his forechecking abilities. He has been traded to the Colorado Avalanche, and instead will be using that effort to try to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive season.

Brett Kulak has a more difficult path to making it to the Final with the Edmonton Oilers, but that remains his goal and that of his new teammates, who will need to go through Lehkonen’s club to get there.

Brendan Gallagher’s absence is less permanent, as he’ll just be out with an illness this evening when the remaining members of the Canadiens host the Boston Bruins. The Habs will see the return of David Savard, who can step right into the lineup to fill the vacancy Kulak’s departure created. We’ve seen that Joel Edmundson needs a few games to find his usual level, and we can probably expect something similar for Savard, who hasn’t played since January 27.

The Bruins, who are missing Patrice Bergeron, won’t have Tomas Nosek on their top line as I wrote in the preview based on their previous lines, but rather the 23-year-old Jack Studnicka who gets a live audition with Brad Marchand and the newly extended Jake DeBrusk. The Bruins will still be favoured to win the game, but hopefully the Canadiens can take advantage of their opponent’s weakened state to at least keep the score closer than it has been through two games of the season series.

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Boston Bruins projected lineup