Preview: Bruins & Canadiens to Clash in Classic Rivalry

Whenever the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens meet hockey fanatics and both cities, make sure to tune in. The two arch rivals will be meeting for third time in 2016-17 tonight. In the previous two meetings, Montreal was able to come away victorious.

The Bruins come into this game on a three-game losing streak, while the Canadiens will be looking to extend their current winning streak to three. In an attempt to end the B’s offensive woes, coach Claude Julien has changed his forward line combinations. The biggest move is David Backes and David Pastrnak switching lines. The team is hoping the change will allow for more offensive production from every line.


Boston Bruins at Montreal Canadiens

 Bell Centre -7:30 p.m. E.S.T

Broadcast Channels-NHL Network, SN, RDS, NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

2016-17 Season Series: Montreal Leads 2-0

Boston Bruins-15-12-2-32 Points

Road Record: 8-5-2

Hot Players: David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand

Key Injuries: Matt Beleskey, Frank Vatrano, John-Michael Liles 

Projected Lines:

Forwards

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Backes

Tim Schaller-David Krejci-David Pastrnak

Danton Heinen-Ryan Spooner-Austin Czarnik

Dominic Moore-Riley Nash-Noel Acciari

Defense

Zdeno Chara-Brandon Carlo

Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid

Kevan Miller-Colin Miller

Goaltender

Tuukka Rask

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Montreal Canadiens-19-6-3-41 Points

Home Record: 14-1-1

Hot Players: Max Pacioretty, Carey Price, Alexander Radulov

Key Injuries: David Desharnais, Alex Galchenyuk, Charles Hudon

Projected Lines:

Forwards

Max Pacioretty-Tomas Plekanec-Alexander Radulov

Artturi Lehkonen-Phillip Danault-Andrew Shaw

Paul Byron-Torrey Mitchell-Brendan Gallagher

Daniel Carr-Brian Flynn-Sven Andrighetto

Defense

Alexei Emelin-Shea Weber

Andrei Markov-Jeff Petry

Nathan Beaulieu-Zach Redmond

Goaltender

Carey Price


Game Notes

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]1)[/miptheme_dropcap] Brad Marchand is on a five-game point streak coming into tonight. Paul Byron has scored nine goals this season. Two of his nine goals have been scored against Boston.

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]2)[/miptheme_dropcap] Max Pacioretty is coming off a four-goal, five point performance against the Avalanche.

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]3)[/miptheme_dropcap] Boston comes into the game nine points behind Montreal in the Atlantic Division.

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]4)[/miptheme_dropcap] The Bruins are down in the all-time series to the Canadiens with a record of 273-351-103-9.

[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]5)[/miptheme_dropcap] Both clubs recently played the Colorado Avalanche. Montreal was able to crush the Avalanche 10-1, but the Bruins lost their game to Colorado 4-2.


The Bruins have been good on the road this season posting an 8-5-2 record, but Montreal has been almost unbeatable in their barn with a 14-1-1 record. On top of that, the Canadiens have scored 22 more goals than Boston, while also allowing eight fewer goals. This will certainly be a tough game and a big test for Boston at the Bell Centre tonight.