Need to Know: Bruins at Canadiens

MONTREAL – For the first time this season, the Bruins and Canadiens will square off, and they’ll do so with something on the line. While the 2025-26 season is still in its early stages, the longtime rivals are tied atop the Atlantic Division standings – along with the Ottawa Senators – with 22 points apiece.

The Canadiens, who are closing out a four-game homestand, are coming off back-to-back losses to Los Angeles and Dallas, during which they were outscored, 12-1.

“I think every game is gonna be a battle,” B’s bench boss Marco Sturm said following an optional morning skate at Bell Centre. “When I saw a few nights ago, they were losing, 7-0, I said, ‘Oh, that’s not a good sign.’ But for us, it’s a rivalry game…it’s great to be here. Either way, I think [the Bruins] ready. They’re gonna be ready and we’ve got to make sure that we match that.”

Wait, There’s More

• Jeremy Swayman will get the start between the pipes. The netminder has won his last four starts and boasts a .922 save percentage and 2.45 goals against average during the stretch. Swayman’s four wins in November are tied with San Jose’s Yaroslav Askarov, Los Angeles’ Darcy Kuemper, and Anaheim’s Lukas Dostal for the most in the NHL.
• Quebec native Jonathan Aspirot will be back in the lineup after sitting out the last two games as a healthy scratch. He’ll sub in for Henri Jokiharju on the B’s third pair alongside Mason Lohrei. “He’s really excited,” said Sturm. “He didn’t do anything wrong [to be pulled from the lineup]…he was really excellent. Now, I just want to give him an opportunity to play in Montreal.”
• Aspiot, who hails from roughly 90 minutes north of Montreal, expects to have a number of family members and friends in the stands. “Super excited. I’ve heard some great stories about playing here,” said Aspirot, who has only played preseason games in the building. “Guys were talking about it’s a great atmosphere to play here at the Bell Centre. I think it’s gonna be a great night with a lot of memories to be made.” Read more.
• No changes to the Bruins’ forward group are expected.

Opposing View

• Captain Nick Suzuki leads Montreal with 20 points (4 goals, 16 assists) in 17 games, while Cole Caufield paced the Habs with 12 goals.
• Sam Montembeault (10 games) and Jakub Dobes (eight games) have split time between the pipes, though Montembeault will start against the Bruins on Saturday night.
• Forward Jared Davidson, 23, will make his NHL debut for Montreal on Saturday night and skate alongside Joe Veleno and Brendan Gallagher, per Canadiens.com.

Saturday’s Projected Lineup

FORWARDS

Morgan Geekie – Marat Khusnutdinov – David Pastrnak

Alex Steeves – Pavel Zacha – Viktor Arvidsson

Tanner Jeannot – Fraser Minten – Mark Kastelic

Jeffrey Viel – Sean Kuraly – Mikey Eyssimont

DEFENSEMEN

Nikita Zadorov – Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm – Andrew Peeke

Mason Lohrei – Jonathan Aspirot

GOALIES

Jeremy Swayman

Joonas Korpisalo