Preview: Bruins head to Montreal for season’s first match-up with the Canadiens

Jan 24, 2023 - 12:00 PM

Boston Bruins v Montreal Canadiens" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JqxmnSBwdo8s_EAd5eQLo2v3Gzg=/0x0:3000x1688/1920x1080/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71899550/1394426127.0.jpg" />

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7 PM

Where: Bell Centre - Montreal, QC

How to follow: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Eyes on the Prize

Know your enemy

• 20-24-3, 43 PTS, last in the Atlantic Division
• Nick Suzuki: 16G-22A-38PTS; Cole Caufield: 26G-10A-36PTS; Kirby Dach: 8G-21A-29PTS
• Jake Allen: 10-16-1, 3.52 GAA, .892 save percentage

Game notes

• Bruins! Canadiens! Is there even a rivalry anymore? No, not really. But we can pretend. Plus, it’s always fun to play a game in Montreal.
• This is the teams’ first meeting of the 2022-2023 season, which seems oddly late.
• The Habs are coming off of a 3-2 overtime win over Toronto at Bell Centre on Saturday night.
• Scoring has been a problem for Montreal this season, with the Habs averaging just 2.57 GF/G - tied for the third-worst mark in the league. Montreal has averaged the fifth-most GA/G (3.64).
• Injuries have been a significant problem for Montreal this season, and things got worse this week: second-leading scorer Cole Caufield is done for the season with a shoulder injury. He joins a comically (in a “laugh to keep from crying” way, Habs fans) long injury list that includes Juraj Slavkofsky, Brendan Gallagher, and Jonathan Drouin, among others.
• Given those injuries, Martin St. Louis has had to make some patchwork line combinations in recent weeks - here’s what the lines looked like in practice on Monday, giving you an idea of what to expect Tuesday.
• The Bruins may be able to make hay on special teams tonight: per the Montreal Gazette, the Habs are the NHL’s most-penalized team. They also sport the league’s seventh-worst penalty kill, which is not a great combination if you’re a Habs fan.
• As an aside, in looking up that last stat, I saw that Vancouver is last in the league with a 65.9% success rate on the PK. 65.9%! Fold the franchise.
• The B’s recalled forward Marc McLaughlin on Monday, adding another option as the team hits the road. McLaughlin hasn’t featured for the B’s yet this season, but that will change on this trip.

See ya tonight!