Canadiens at Bruins
The Boston Bruins will attempt to rebound from a brutal season-opening performance but they'll have to do it against their biggest nemesis when the Montreal Canadiens pay a visit to TD Garden on Saturday. After getting steamrolled at home by Winnipeg in a 6-2 rout, the Bruins must find a way to end a five-game losing streak to the Canadiens.
Boston's worst fears were realized as a makeshift defense missing captain Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg was carved up by the Jets. “We can’t hang our heads," Bruins center David Krejci said. "We have a game (on Saturday) so just regroup and get back at it.” Montreal, meanwhile, relied on a familiar blueprint to win its season opener, getting 36 saves from Carey Price before captain Max Pacioretty capped off a two-game game with an empty-netter in a 3-1 victory over Toronto. The Canadiens were victorious in all four matchups last season and have won six in a row in Boston.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, CBC, NESN (Boston)
ABOUT THE CANADIENS (1-0-0): Coming off a 37-goal campaign, Pacioretty got off to a fast start but he gave all the credit to Price, who is coming off a season in which he won the Hart and Vezina Trophies. "We're used to that," Pacioretty said. "We definitely relied on him a little bit too much tonight, but that's what we're used to. He plays that way every night." Price certainly seems to play that way every time out against the Bruins, logging a 4-0-0 mark against them last season and permitting only two goals in the last three meetings.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (0-1-0): Not surprisingly, the focus for Boston on Friday was shoring up the defensive issues, especially since the playing status of Chara remains in question even though he practiced in full. "We don’t know where he is, and he’s still day-to-day," said Bruins coach Claude Julien, who hinted at possible lineup changes. "So we have to have a look at where he is (Saturday), and move from there.” Promising blue-liner Colin MIller, one of the key acquisitions in the deal that sent Milan Lucic to Los Angeles, could be poised to make his NHL debut.
OVERTIME
1. Price's 21 wins versus Boston (21-8-3) are his most against any opponent.
2. Bruins G Tuukka Rask allowed nine goals in three losses to the Canadiens last season to fall to 3-13-3 lifetime against them.
3. Montreal's Brendan Gallagher and Tomas Plekanec matched Pacioretty with three goals each against Boston last season.