Canadiens at Bruins
The Boston Bruins hope to carry over the momentum from an offensive explosion last time out and remain unbeaten on their six-game homestand when they host the Original Six-rival Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. The Bruins edged Carolina 4-3 in overtime to start their string at home while David Krejci’s hat trick led them to an 8-4 destruction of two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh on Thursday.
“We were just shooting pucks, and we talked about that,” Boston rookie defenseman Charlie McAvoy told reporters after notching two assists on Thursday. “We had a lot of tip-in goals and good shot selection, and we have to keep getting pucks on net.” The Bruins go after their sixth straight victory in the all-time series and fourth this season against the Montreal, which is riding a six-game point streak (3-0-3). Alex Galchenyuk recorded his second career hat trick and added an assist in his 400th NHL contest as the Canadiens routed the New York Islanders 6-3 on Friday in the opener of their six-game road trip. Montreal captain Max Pacioretty, who has managed just one goal in his last 15 games, left the victory with a lower-body injury and will be evaluated on Saturday.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, TVA (Montreal), NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (25-29-10): Brendan Gallagher scored on Friday for the first time in seven games and added an assist to push his point total to 39, tying Galchenyuk for the team lead. Jonathan Drouin also notched an assist and has posted four points and a plus-5 rating over his last four games while defenseman Mike Reilly recorded two assists in his second game since being acquired from Minnesota on Monday. Antti Niemi, who registered a .931 save percentage last month, could get the start against the Bruins after Charlie Lindgren made 32 saves in the win over the Islanders.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (39-15-8): Krejci is benefiting from the presence of new linemate Rick Nash, who was acquired from the New York Rangers last week and has recorded two goals and an assist in his first three games with Boston. “He takes the puck to the net, he’s a big body, he can skate really well. I’m trying to get a feel for what he can do and try to find that, getting an idea of where he puts the puck,” Krejci told reporters of Nash. “It’s getting better.” Brad Marchand leads the team with 60 points (24 goals) after scoring twice and notching three assists over his last four contests.
OVERTIME
1. Boston RW David Pastrnak has collected five assists in his last four games and needs two to reach 100 for his career.
2. Montreal recalled D Rinat Valiev from Laval of the American Hockey League on Friday after rookie D Victor Mete suffered a hand injury against the Islanders.
3. The Bruins went 3-for-5 on the power play Thursday after going 0-for-16 over their previous six contests.