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

Over the course of their storied histories, the Montreal Canadiens and the Boston Bruins have always had a bitter resentment towards each other. In the early 2000s, it was Montreal coming out on top, but in recent years the trend has been leaning more towards Boston.

This past season, Montreal has been struggling, and that’s putting it mildly. Star goaltender Carey Price was out for a prolonged amount of time, all-star defenceman Shea Weber, who hasn’t played since the NHL100 Classic in Ottawa on December 16, is expected to be out until after All-Star Weekend. And then there’s the ongoing saga of who is a center and who isn’t between Alex Galchenyuk, Jonathan Drouin, and now Paul Byron.

The Canadiens (18-20-6) are 44 games into the season, and are currently in 14th place in the Eastern Conference, currently nine points out of a wild-card spot. Twenty-one 0f their remaining 38 games will be played outside of the Bell Centre, while the Habs have a road record of 11-8-5 this season.

The Bruins (24-10-8) are playing some very strong hockey as of late. Though they struggled in the early part of the season, they currently have recorded a point in each of their last 13 contests, three away from their franchise record of 16.

Now second in the Atlantic Division, they’re getting a lot of consistent play from the younger players, such as Charlie McAvoy, Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen. Their core is still intact with Habs enemies Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak still at the top of their scoring race. Goaltenders Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin have combined for just 108 goals against all season, which is good for second-lowest in the entire NHL.

Montreal’s last game saw them come back from two separate two-goal deficits only to lose in overtime. New York Islanders captain John Tavares scored his second of the game at 1:51 of the extra frame to hand Montreal another loss following their bye week.

Boston’s last game also saw them come back from a two-goal deficit of their own, only to rally and force overtime against the Dallas Stars on Monday night. But with 2:01 left in the fourth period, former Bruins second overall pick of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Tyler Seguin, ended the game for Dallas.

In the last meeting of these two bitter rivals, Montreal forced overtime and a shootout before Marchand won it in the fourth round last Saturday night in Montreal. The game was ultimately overshadowed by the scary scene late in the second period when Habs forward Phillip Danault took a slapshot fron Bruins captain Zdeno Chara in the head and had to be evalauated in hospital before returning home. He’s currently out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms.

Logan Shaw, claimed off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, will not make his Canadiens debut this evening. In 42 games with Anaheim this past season, he has two goals and eight points.

Puck drop is at 7:30 PM EST / 4:30 PM PST

How to watch

In Canada: Sportsnet, Sportsnet Now (English), RDS (French)
In the US: NBCSN
Elsewhere: NHL.tv/NHL GameCentre Live, NHL Center Ice

Montreal Canadiens projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders

Boston Bruins projected lineup

Forwards

Defencemen

Goaltenders