MONTREAL – The Boston Bruins appear to be going back to some winning combinations for their game against the rival Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre tonight.
Captain Zdeno Chara was paired with his defense partner from last year’s Stanley Cup run, Dennis Seidenberg, at this morning’s skate. If the pairing remains for the game, it would be the first time this season the two have played together.
Coach Claude Julien also re-united the line of Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Nathan Horton, a combination that was a force in last year’s playoffs. Benoit Pouliot did not make the trip with the Bruins because he is dealing with an illness, so his return to the Bell Centre will need to be put off for now.
Julien would not confirm his goaltender, but Tuukka Rask was off the ice first at the morning skate, which normally means he will start over Tim Thomas. If so, Rask would be seeking his first win of the season after losses in his only two starts.
For the Canadiens, coach Jacques Martin made no line changes from his
team’s 2-1 win against the Bruins in Boston on Thursday. In fact he hasn’t touched his lines the past two games, both victories. Carey Price gets the start in goal for Montreal.
Here are the projected lineups for both teams:
MONTREAL
Max Pacioretty – Tomas Plekanec – Brian Gionta
Michael Cammalleri – David Desharnais – Erik Cole
Andrei Kostitsyn – Lars Eller – Travis Moen
Mathieu Darche – Petteri Nokelainen – Michael Blunden
Injured: Scott Gomez
Josh Gorges – P.K. Subban
Hal Gill – Raphael Diaz
Jaroslav Spacek – Yannick Weber
Scratch: Alexei Emelin
Carey Price
BOSTON
Milan Lucic – David Krejci – Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – Tyler Seguin
Jordan Caron – Chris Kelly – Rich Peverley
Daniel Paille – Gregory Campbell – Shawn Thornton
Scratch: Benoit Pouliot
Zdeno Chara – Dennis Seidenberg
Joe Corvo – Adam McQuaid
Andrew Ference – Johnny Boychuk
Scratch: Steven Kampfer
Tuukka Rask