Need to Know: Bruins vs. Canadiens

BOSTON - Boston sports fans know a thing or two about rivalries.
It's well-known around the NHL that Bruins fans bring energy to each TD Garden home game, but certain matchups add a little more fuel to that fire.

Saturday's home contest against the Montreal Canadiens is one of those exceptional games.
"It's always a special rivalry," said Patrice Bergeron. "And it's always a special game to be a part of. Again, looking forward to it especially on a Saturday night. We know the atmosphere will be electric, as it always is in the building, and it will be a lot of fun."

The B's defeated the Habs in all four of their regular-season meetings last season, including one shootout victory, outscoring them 14-6. The Canadiens are one of three teams in the Eastern Conference that the Bruins swept in 2017-18, along with Ottawa, Detroit and Carolina.
Montreal head coach Claude Julien returns to the Garden with the Canadiens for the third time since his 10-year tenure as coach of the Bruins ended in 2017. And he's certainly aware of the threat his former star players pose heading into the contest.
"Nothing's changed with them," said Julien. "They're still extremely strong defensively. They don't give much, and at the same time they've got some guys, especially that one line [Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak], that can do a lot of damage. They won 3-0 [on Thursday]. That line didn't get a point, but they find ways to win, so they're a real good hockey club."
The Bruins are looking for their fifth straight home win of the season against one of their fellow Original Six teams. This is their first matchup of the season, but the two clubs have faced off against each other over 600 times, the most of any two teams in the history of the NHL.
Montreal is coming off a 4-3 loss to Buffalo on Thursday and feels that this game could provide an opportunity for their younger talent to exceed expectations.
"This will be a real tough challenge for us, but never a bad thing," said Julien. "I just find sometimes when you see the kind of challenge you have in front of you you're better prepared and ready to play those games, so hopefully that's the case."
Bergeron also pointed out that the Canadiens' youth could present challenges to the Bruins as they continue to develop.
"We know that Claude is one of those coaches that always finds a way and gets the best out of his players," said Bergeron. "They have a lot of good young players coming up and playing some great hockey and becoming great players of their own. It's going to be a good matchup."

Competitive Edge

Thursday's 3-0 win against the Flyers is the result of a solid day at work for each Bruins player on the ice. For Jeremy Lauzon, that win was just an added sweetener to an already once-in-a-lifetime evening.
The 21-year-old made his NHL debut against Philadelphia after multiple injuries have sidelined a chunk of the Bruins defensive core. Lauzon saw 11:25 of ice time as the third defensive pairing with Steven Kampfer and was also used on the penalty kill.
"Last night I thought he competed hard, stayed out of trouble for the most part," said coach Bruce Cassidy. "Hopefully he continues to get better every game. I saw him more in camp, but I thought his game has grown from last year in terms of his composure with the puck, his composure when it's his turn to contain."
Before his recall, the Quebec native was a solid asset for the Providence Bruins, recording one goal and three assists in six games.

On the Verge

Torey Krug skated pretty close to full-go at practice on Friday for the first time since injuring his ankle during the preseason and could possibly see his first regular-season minutes against the Canadiens on Saturday.
"He's very close," said Cassidy. "There's a chance he could play tomorrow. We're going to have that discussion and see how he finished today and see if there's any lingering effects tomorrow morning from the battles today. We don't want to put ourselves in a position where we rush it and there's another setback. It's too early in the year. He's too important of a player."
Cassidy also noted that practice on Friday was lighter than usual due to the games on Thursday and Saturday, which was not ideal for Krug in his transition back to game mode.
If Krug plays against Montreal, Lauzon will sit.

Tuukka Time

Tuukka Rask will get the start against Montreal after Jaroslav Halak earned the shutout versus the Flyers on Thursday, which Cassidy says was always the original plan.
"[Jaroslav] Halak's been very good for us," said Cassidy. "I hoped he would be, thought he would be. The reason we signed him is he's very capable. As for patience, they'll both play…we're certainly not down on Tuukka. He played very well in Ottawa the other night. Hopefully that'll snowball for him, keep giving us good quality starts."

Rest Stops

Zdeno Chara and Chris Wagner did not practice on Friday, but Cassidy said they were both just given maintenance days and are expected to play against the Canadiens.