Two points on the line for two teams that as of now are tied for first place in the Northeast division. Tonight the Boston Bruins will take on their best friends the Montreal Canadiens for possibly one of the most important games of the season. This is the third of four meetings between the teams with each having a win against thus far. The big picture of tonight is that at the end of the game one team will be the leader of the Northeast division and with the season halfway over, that’s an important place to be.
Milan Lucic scored his first goal in 16 games on Monday night! (Credit: Slidingsideways/Flickr)
Bruins back on track:
After a pretty brutal road trip, the Bruins managed to come from behind and get a win on Monday via shootout against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now the game wasn’t pretty but two points is two points and that is what has them in this tie with the Canadiens. The B’sn are on a crazy schedule right now that doesn’t allow for many days of rest which is showing in the games played. Yesterday’s practice was cancelled so ideally the boys are well rested for tonight.
Canadiens cool down:
After a five-game winning streak, the Canadiens are 1-2-1. This has been ideal for Boston as they have been able to keep up and now be at a time with Montreal. They are coming off of a 1-0 shutout loss yesterday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It would in Boston’s best interest to take advantage of the last of rest the Canadiens have had.
PK Versus PP:
The Bruins penalty kill is still top in the league at 91.7% while the power play is sitting at 25th place at 15.1%. Oddly enough there are teams that have a worse power play unit. As for Montreal they are 9th in PP (20.9%) and 18th in PK (80.3%).
Tuukka Rask and Carey Price are two of the best goaltenders in the league right now so look for both to get the starts tonight. Price has stopped 40 of the past 43 shots he’s faced (.930 save percentage). He has 16 games allowing two goals or fewer. Rask allowed just two goals on 25 shots during Monday’s game and has a 15-4-3 record heading into tonights game. His 1.90 GAA is second in the league, while his .928 save percentage is third. I don’t expect either goalie to let up any soft goals tonight.
Puck drops at 7:30 and this being a true rivalry night you can check out the game on NBCSN!
A Cup A Bruin 