The Canadiens have been sitting on 19 wins for almost a week, and are getting their third chance to record their 20th win in under 30 games tonight when the Bruins come to town for their second visit of the year. The race for first place in the NHL has extended to a three point lead, as the Dallas Stars continue to rack up wins and points, and are stamping their legitimacy as the NHL’s top team.
With the Canadiens’ man games lost to injury number on the rise, and the list of injured players growing, the Habs have lost three of their last four games. The resulting injuries, as well as the official departure of Alex Semin, have led to a number of call-ups from St. John’s including Christian Thomas, Daniel Carr, Sven Andrighetto and now Charles Hudon. The only player called up from St. John’s who did not register a point with the Canadiens was Bud Holloway, who only played one game.
The Bruins have been a team on the rise, with a record of 6-2-2 in their past ten games, but like the Habs, have lost three of their past four after coming off a long winning streak (five games). Compared the to Bruins’ team the Canadiens faced at the beginning of the season, the one on the ice tonight is a lot better, and given the Habs injuries, has the ability to beat the Habs for the first time in eight straight games.
The lineup projected below might be a cause for hope given the three losses in four games the Canadiens have sustained since Carey Price was officially announced out until at least mid-January. Sven Andrighetto is projected on the top line alongside Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty. If this line can click early, it could prove to be viable threat and should help David Desharnais and Dale Weise find their previous form as both are back on the third line, and as a result will no longer have to deal with the opposition’s top line.
The puck drops at 7:30 PM EST.
How To Watch:
In Canada (French): RDS
In Canada (English): Sportsnet
In the Bruins’ region: NESN
Elsewhere: NBCSN, NHL GameCenter, NHL Center Ice
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Max Pacioretty | Alex Galchenyuk | Sven Andrighetto |
| Lars Eller | Tomas Plekanec | Paul Byron |
| Tomas Fleischmann | David Desharnais | Dale Weise |
| Daniel Carr | Brian Flynn | Christian Thomas |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Andrei Markov | P.K. Subban |
| Alexei Emelin | Jeff Petry |
| Nathan Beaulieu | Tom Gilbert |
| Goaltenders |
| Mike Condon |
| Dustin Tokarski |
Scratched: Greg Pateryn, Charles Hudon
Injuries: Carey Price (lower body) Brendan Gallagher (broken fingers), Torrey Mitchell (lower body), Devante Smith-Pelly (lower body)
| Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
| Brad Marchand | Patrice Bergeron | Brett Connolly |
| Matt Beleksey | David Krejci | Loui Eriksson |
| Frank Vatrano | Ryan Spooner | Jimmy Hayes |
| Zak Rinaldo | Landon Ferraro | Tyler Randell |
| Left Defense |
Right Defense |
| Zdeno Chara | Zach Trotman |
| Torey Krug | Adam McQuaid |
| Joe Morrow | Kevan Miller |
| Goaltenders |
| Tuuka Rask |
| Jonas Gustavsson |
Scratched: Max Talbot
Injuries: Chris Kelly (leg), David Pastrnak (foot), Dennis Seidenberg (undisclosed), Colin Miller (undisclosed)
Check out the enemy over at Stanley Cup of Chowder.
