This one’s going to be a dandy, folks.
The Montreal Canadiens travel to Boston for a matchup against one of the most hated rivals in franchise history. Both teams have been on fire recently, having each won three contests with one loss (that coming in regulation for Boston and a shootout loss for Montreal). They both stand atop the Atlantic Division with Montreal in first and Boston in second.
Both teams have their respective headlines offensively coming in to this game. Brad Marchand is currently leading all NHL forwards in points, with nine through four games played, and David Pastrnak following closely behind with seven. Meanwhile, the Habs are tied for first in average goals scored per game, with 16 makers in their first four contests.
This is coupled with the fact that the Habs currently have six players who are either at or above a point-per-game pace: Brendan Gallagher, Max Pacioretty, Alex Galchenyuk, David Desharnais, Shea Weber, and Jeff Petry.
Newcomers Arturri Lehkonen, Andrew Shaw, Alexander Radulov, and Shea Weber get to experience their first Montreal-Boston game in the Garden. Although the Boston faithful will undoubtedly welcome the meeting with a shower of boos open arms, there have been those who have questions about the rivalry having become less heated in recent years, with notable players on both teams such as P.K. Subban and Milan Lucic now wearing different sweaters. However, rest assured that when both of these teams are fighting to be top dog in the Atlantic, all assumed pleasantries will be out the window.
Update: The Bruins will also be without starting goaltender Tuukka Rask tonight as he recovers from day-to-day soreness.
Puck drop is at 7:00 PM EDT / 4:00 PM PDT
How to Watch
Canada (English): City TV
Canada (French): TVA Sports
United States: NESN
Outside the NY/Boston area: NHL.TV (free!)
| Left Wing |
Centre |
Right Wing |
| Max Pacioretty | Alex Galchenyuk | Brendan Gallagher |
| Artturi Lehkonen | Tomas Plekanec | Alexander Radulov |
| Paul Byron | David Desharnais | Andrew Shaw |
| Phillip Danault | Torrey Mitchell | Brian Flynn |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Nathan Beaulieu | Shea Weber |
| Andrei Markov | Jeff Petry |
| Alexei Emelin | Greg Pateryn |
| Goaltenders |
| Carey Price |
| Al Montoya |
Scratched: Mikhail Sergachev, Daniel Carr
Injured: Zach Redmond (foot)
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Brad Marchand | Patrice Bergeron | David Pasternak |
| Danton Heinen | David Krejci | David Backes |
| Matt Belesky | Riley Nash | Jimmy Hayes |
| Tim Schaller | Dominic Moore | Noel Acciari |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Zdeno Chara | Brandon Carlo |
| Joe Morrow | Torey Krug |
| John-Michael Liles | Colin Miller |
| Goaltenders |
| Anton Khudobin |
| Zane McIntyre |
Scratched: Ryan Spooner, Rob O’Gara
Injured: Tuukka Rask (soreness), Adam McQuaid (upper body)