To celebreate the Canadiens 100th anniversary, Montreal welcomes forever-rivals the Boston Bruins to the Bell Centre tonight. Puck drops at 8pm EST.
Boston got the better of Montreal with a 5-0-1 record in their six meetings last season, while nearly doubling-up the Habs 23-13 in scoring. But Boston is 0-0-1 against the Habs this season, losing 2-1 in a shootout on Nov. 5 in their only meeting thus far.
Home Team: Montreal Canadiens (12-14-2, 26 points, 4th Northeast Division, 12 Eastern Conference, 1-3-1 last five)
By: Heather Engel, Montreal Canadiens Examiner
Jersey retirements, special Original Six matchups recognizing the history on both sides, historical sweaters, Centennial Plaza, commemorative stamps... the list could go on for hours.
Finally, the years of honouring the Montreal Canadiens’ history comes to a peak tonight with the Centennial game. The special ceremonies get underway at 5:45 p.m. and if the past is any indication, you don’t want to miss it.
Who’s hot: Take a look at the scoresheet over the last little while and it’s almost certain you’ll Max Pacioretty and/or Sergei Kostitsyn on it. Pacioretty’s game has been on a roll since Nov. 17, a span of eight games in which he’s amassed seven points. The 2007 first-rounder had just three points through the first month of the season as a whole and then endured a dry spell in the weeks leading up to his current stretch.
Kostitsyn, meanwhile, appears to have gotten past the tumultuous month of refusals and suspensions. He’s shown what great vision in his five games thus far he has with some slick passes, three of which have become helpers.
Who’s not: The offence as a whole. The cliché that you can’t win games if you don’t score goals couldn’t be any more appropriate for the Canadiens right now. The team has scored twice overall in two games this week and is lingering in 29th place in the NHL with an average of just 2.29 goals for.
Who to watch: The team as a whole faltered against the Sabres but did have a few good moments in the third. During the brief high, Andrei Kostitsyn showed no ill effects from a week off while recovering from an injured foot. That comes as good news, given his history against the Bruins. Though his four-game point streak was snapped against Buffalo, Kostitsyn has a 18 points in as many appearances against Boston, including six on the power-play.
What to watch for: How the Canadiens start and how they react if the Bruins score first. Starts have been the team’s Achilles heel all season long and tends to follow one of two scripts: good start and then the other team scores and the Habs back off, or just an overall miserable start to begin with. For the last six games, Montreal has allowed their opponent to jump out to leads after the first period, including a 2-0 edge in three straight.
Unsung player/under the radar: After a rough 2008-09 season, Ryan O’Byrne came into the 2009-10 campaign with confidence and it showed all through training camp. Then, the worst of luck hit when he was sidelined with a knee injury in just the second game of the year. He returned two weeks ago and hasn’t appeared to have lost any of that poise.
O’Byrne doesn’t appear to panic under pressure, but rather just keeps it simple and does what he can. That includes skating quite well for his 6-foot-5, 234-pound frame, laying out his opponents (hello, Mikhail Grabovski), and using his reach to poke the puck away. And, after taking boxing lessons over the summer, the 25-year-old is ready to drop the mitts if the situation dictates it.
Expected lines and defensive pairings (To be confirmed)
Mike Cammalleri-Tomas Plekanec-Andrei Kostitsyn
Tom Pyatt-Scott Gomez-Ryan White
Max Pacioretty-Glen Metropolit-Travis Moen
Sergei Kostitsyn-Maxim Lapierre-Matt D’Agostini
Injuries: A once overflowing clinic has less patients these days. The long-term casualties remain Andrei Markov (lacerated tendon) and Brian Gionta (foot). Newest Hab Benoit Pouliot (wrist) skated with his teammates for the first time on Thursday but his status remains up in the air. Defenceman Hal Gill (foot) appears to be ready and just awaiting the word from his coach.
*Georges Laraque, meanwhile will be eligible to return tonight following his five-game suspension for a knee-on-knee hit on Detroit’s Niklas Kronwall.
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Away Team: Boston Bruins (14-8-5, 33 points, 2nd Northeast Division, 5th Eastern Conference, 4-0-1 last five)
Who's Hot: With a 6-0-1 record in their last seven, there have been many productive players for the B's. First and foremost, Tim Thomas has been superb between the pipes since returning from his minor injury -- which kept him sidelined for six games. Despite a late third period hiccup against the Ottawa Senators, Thomas has won his last two starts, and is looking like the Vezina Trophy winner of last season. The other night against Tampa Bay, Thomas backstopped the Bruins to victory by stopping a season-high 39 of 40 shots against.
Marc Savard is in the midst of a four-game point streak, recording 1-3-4 during that span.
Marco Sturm, after a two-goal performance against the Lightning, is now 4-1-5 in his last seven games.
Mark Recchi has four assist in his last two games, and Zdeno Chara has three during that span.
Patrice Bergeron has 2-6-8 in his last seven and has won over 64-percent of the face-off draws.
Who's Not: When a team goes 6-0-1 in their seven games, is there much to complain about? Well, one thing popped-out to me after the Bruins' last game: six minor penalties and only three times with the man-advantage. The B's now have 20 minor penalties in their last four games. The Big Bad Bruins have been taking foolish penalties all season long, and are ranked 4th in the NHL with 102 total minor penalties through 27 games. It's a good thing their penalty-kill units are 85.4-percent on the year, for 2nd best in the league.
What To Watch For: Look above. The Bruins really need to keep their composure tonight...of all nights, tonight. Focus is the key, as the Canadiens will be celebrating their 100th anniversary at the Bell Centre. Like Claude Julien said, "it's their anniversary, not ours". There's no doubt that the Hans fans in attendance will be amped up; if Boston plays fundamental hockey in which they have been -- without getting caught up in the actual event of the Canadiens ceremony and push right back -- the Bruins should be able to take advantage of a Canadiens teams who got smaked around in Buffalo, 6-2, last night.
Who To Watch For: The Bruins second-line of Recchi-Bergeron-Sturm. The trio eight points in their last game against the Lightning and accounted for 15 of the Bruins 39 total shots on goal. Boston's best line now has 19 points combined in their last seven contests.
Also, watch for Zdeno Chara as he looked a little banged during his last game. Chara also missed the majority of practice yesterday. Chara, along with Derek Morris, has been a rock on defense all season long for the B's. If No. 33 isn't 100-percent in tonight's game, the Bruins goaltender, along with Morris, are sure to be in for a long night as they are sure to match-up against the Habs top-lines.
Line Combinations:
Blake Wheeler—Marc Savard—Byron Bitz
Marco Sturm—Patrice Bergeron—Mark Recchi
Vladimir Sobotka—David Krejci—Michael Ryder
Shawn Thornton—Steve Begin—Daniel Paille
Zdeno Chara—Derek Morris
Andrew Ference—Dennis Wideman
Matt Hunwick—Mark Stuart
Tuukka Rask—Tim Thomas
Injury Report: Milan Lucic, high ankle sprain. Johnny Boychuk was assigned to AHL providence.
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