Canadiens at Bruins
The Montreal Canadiens have won seven of eight overall to catapult to the top of the NHL's standings. The Canadiens look to continue their good fortune when they vie for the third victory in as many meetings with the Original Six rival Bruins in Boston on Saturday. Max Pacioretty celebrated his 26th birthday by scoring a pair of goals in Montreal's 4-1 win over St. Louis on Thursday.
The Connecticut native has torched Boston in the first two meetings this season, collecting a tally and two assists in the Canadiens' 6-4 triumph on Oct. 16 and scoring two goals and setting up another in a 5-1 victory on Nov. 13. The Bruins answered the latter loss by winning their next three games, with Alexander Khokhlachev making his presence felt after serving as an emergency recall from Providence of the American Hockey League. Playing in his second career game and first of the season, the 21-year-old Russian scored the lone goal in the seventh round of the shootout in a 4-3 triumph over Columbus on Friday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NESN (Boston). TVA, CBC (Montreal)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (15-5-1): Montreal rid itself of the disappointment that was Rene Bourque when it shipped the struggling 32-year-old to Anaheim for veteran defenseman Bryan Allen on Thursday. Despite faring well in last season's playoffs, Bourque had been demoted to the American Hockey League after notching just two assists in 13 games in 2014-15. Allen is expected to provide depth on the blue line for the Canadiens, who saw defenseman Mike Weaver notch an assist on Thursday in his return from a one-game absence to an upper-body injury.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (13-8-0): Tuukka Rask has dismissed a sluggish start by winning eight of his last 10 outings, highlighted by a 33-save performance to claim his first shutout in Boston's 2-0 triumph over St. Louis on Tuesday. The 27-year-old Finn, however, continues to sputter versus Montreal as he yielded five goals on 23 shots in the first meeting this season to drop to 3-11-3 with a 2.80 goals-against average against the Canadiens. Boston's battered blue line took another hit as defenseman Dougie Hamilton exited Friday's contest in the third period and did not return due to an undisclosed injury.
OVERTIME
1. Montreal G Carey Price was in net for both outings versus Boston this season and owns a 19-8-3 mark against the rival
2. Boston LW Loui Eriksson collected a goal and two assists in the first two meetings with the Canadiens.
3. Montreal RW Dale Weise has four goals in his last five games to match his season high for a season, which was set over 68 games in 2011-12.