Game 52: Montreal Canadiens @ Boston Bruins
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: CBC, Sportsnet E/O/P/1, Omni (English), TVA Sports (French)
In the Bruins region: NESN
Streaming: CBC Gem, ESPN+, Sportsnet+
The Atlantic Division standings no longer feature a group of three teams at the top with a gap to the wild-card race. The Buffalo Sabres reeled in the Montreal Canadiens with two wins in eight days, and those results have also allowed the other chasers to gain ground. The Habs no longer have a comfortable cushion, and the gap to the top of the division is the same as it is to slipping out of a playoff spot altogether.
Montreal may have outplayed the Sabres in most of the last game, which was at least encouraging proof that that was possible given how the game a week earlier had transpired. But the Canadiens were inexplicably unprepared for the start of the game, and under a minute into the contest they were trailing. There may only be three teams in the league that have lost fewer games when giving up the opening goal than Montreal, but their record is of course significantly better when they get the first goal, and, with hindsight to see how the rest of the game was played, they probably would have won had their effort been there from the start.
Just one point back of the Sabres sit the Boston Bruins, and that’s the team the Canadiens have travelled to play tonight. This is the third of four meetings between the rivals this season, with each team claiming a win so far. You have to expect the Canadiens will be engaged from the start as they try to re-establish their place among the top teams in both the division and the league overall.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Bruins |
|---|---|---|
| 28-16-7 | Record | 29-20-2 |
| 49.6% (18th) | Expected-goal share | 46.4% (28th) |
| 3.37 (4th) | Goals per game | 3.29 (9th) |
| 3.27 (25th) | Goals against per game | 3.10 (18th) |
| 23.0% (10th) | PP% | 26.4% (4th) |
| 77.7% (24th) | PK% | 78.1% (22nd) |
| 1-1-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-1-0 |
| Cole Caufield (26) | Most goals | Morgan Geekie (26) |
| Lane Hutson (43) | Most assists | David Pastrnak (42) |
| Nick Suzuki (5) | Most points | David Pastrnak (63) |
There was no question about Montreal’s energy level the last time they played the Bruins, at TD Garden on December 23. Josh Anderson and Tanner Jeannot dropped their gloves at centre ice just three seconds after the opening puck drop, with a second fight coming later in the period. Montreal was able to score the first goal in the game, but it was the five unanswered they had over the final two periods that earned them a 6-2 win.
It was a big night for Noah Dobson with three assists, his first such game since signing with the Canadiens. No player should want to have a better game than the Prince Edward Islander after the rough first period he played versus Buffalo, with a couple of poor decisions on one shift that led to a short-handed goal. Of his seven multi-point efforts as a Hab, four have come against the old guard of the Atlantic — Boston, Florida, Tampa Bay, and Toronto — so he’s generally played his best versus at least the legacy leaders of the division, and Montreal will need that level from him again.
The Bruins have run hot and cold all season long, with two six-game losing streaks and two sequences of six consecutive wins. The good news for Montreal is that their latest winning run has come to an end. In those six games, they never allowed more than two goals, giving up a total of seven. Then they lost 6-2 to the Dallas Stars, and enter this game after a 4-3 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.
What we saw in the last meeting in Boston was Montreal trying to play the Bruins’ game in the opening period, then shifting to their own tactics of quick transitions and creative offensive-zone play. Boston had nowhere near the pace on its roster to contend with the Canadiens when they were zipping the puck around the ice, looking completely outclassed over the final couple of periods. That’s how Montreal worked its way back into the game versus Buffalo two days ago and came close to completing a comeback from three goals down. That’s how the Habs will give themselves their best chance to sweep the two games played in Boston.
