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Canadiens host Bruins in 100th home opener

Oct 15, 2008 - 10:01 AM Boston (1-1-0) at Montreal (2-0-1), 7:30 pm EDT

MONTREAL (Ticker) -- Since 1909, the Montreal Canadiens have treated their fans well during home openers.

The Canadiens' home opener against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday is just one of the many events the franchise will celebrate in honor of its centennial campaign.

The game will see the unveiling of the Ring of Honor, a row of portraits of the 44 players and 10 builders the Canadiens have sent to the Hockey Hall of Fame since the team's founding.

In addition, the All-Star Game will be held at the Bell Centre in January, Hall of Fame goaltender Patrick Roy's jersey retirement ceremony is slated for November and several games in which players wear jerseys from the team's early days are scheduled.

Entering with a record of 55-27-15-1 in home openers, the Canadiens face the Bruins for the first time since winning Game Seven of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals last season.

Boston dropped the first two games of the series against Montreal last spring, making it 13 straight losses at the time. However, the Bruins won three of the next four to force the Game Seven in which they suffered a 5-0 defeat.

The last time Montreal was shut out in its first game at home was in 1934 against the Detroit Red Wings. It has started the season with three road games in each of the last four seasons and never has earned fewer than five points.

The season series between the "Original Six" rivals could not have gone worse for the Bruins last season, as they notched just one point in the eight meetings. They were held to two or fewer goals in seven of the meetings and were outscored, 38-16, overall.

Canadiens goaltender Carey Price never has lost to the Bruins in the regular season, going 5-0-0 with a 2.17 goals-against average. The 21-year-old has a 1.92 GAA and a .941 save percentage thus far this campaign.

Bruins right wing Michael Ryder, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, will be playing his first game in Montreal as an opponent after spending his first four NHL seasons with the Canadiens.