Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Rivalry Night on NBCSN: Canadiens, Bruins look to break Northeast tie

Bruins vs Canadiens

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 3: Tuukka Rask #40 of the Boston Bruins lets in a goal against the Montreal Canadiens at the TD Garden on March 3, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)

Throughout the season, NBCSN will feature the NHL’s fiercest rivalries on Wednesday nights. Tonight the Montreal Canadiens will head to TD Garden for a match against the Boston Bruins at 7:30 p.m. ET.

The Bruins and Canadiens have spent the better part of the season battling for the Northeast Division title and that battle is far from resolved. Going into tonight’s contest, the two teams are tied with 45 points, although Montreal has played in one more game than Boston.

Both of these teams have gotten this far thanks to solid defense, strong goaltending, and an offensive core that’s shown its depth this season.

The fact that Boston is in this race isn’t much of a surprise. There was some concern that goaltender Tuukka Rask might not be able to seamlessly assume Tim Thomas’ starting duties, but after serving as a strong backup for years, Rask’s 2013 performance can’t be considered a shock.

Instead, the Canadiens are the Cinderella story. They’ve benefited from the emergence of rookies Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher, but when the season started, their core wasn’t dramatically different than the one that finished in the basement of the Eastern Conference in 2011-12.

Perhaps the biggest difference has been behind the bench, where Michel Therrien is now running the show. Under him, the Canadiens have gone from one of the worst power-play teams in the NHL to one of the best. Of course, having a finally healthy Andrei Markov join P.K. Subban as the team’s top two blueliners with the man advantage helps too.

Not many teams in the league can afford to take penalties against the Canadiens, but if there’s one that can endure, it’s Boston. The Bruins have a league-leading 91.7 penalty killing percentage.

These two teams have played each other twice this season and both contests were decided by a goal. It wouldn’t be surprising if tonight’s game ended up being just as close.

Probable goaltenders: BOS - Rask (15-4-3, 1.90 GAA, .928 SV%) | MON - Peter Budaj (4-1-1, 2.47 GAA, .903 SV%)

Top scorers: BOS - Patrice Bergeron (9-18-27, 31 GP) | MON - Max Pacioretty (9-16-25, 28 GP)

Notable Injuries:
Boston - Forwards: Chris Kelly (leg), Marc Savard (concussion) Defenseman: Adam McQuaid (shoulder), Johnny Boychuk (foot)
Montreal - Forwards: Brandon Prust (shoulder), Ryan White (lower body), Rene Bourque (concussion) Defenseman: Yannick Weber (knee), Raphael Diaz (concussion)