MONTREAL –– The Boston Bruins are closing out their road trip on Tuesday with a matchup against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.
And the stakes are high.
Montreal currently sits third in the Atlantic Division with 82 points. Boston, which is in the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, trails its opponent by just one point.
“That’s the games you want to be in, especially here tonight...It is a big game for us again tonight. Big points,” head coach Marco Sturm said.. “I don’t see any panic in our room, on the bench, whatever it is. I think it’s a good mix. Like I said before, we’re still learning from those kinds of moments, but so far, we’ve handled it pretty good.”
The 7 p.m. puck drop marks the fourth and final time the rivals will meet this regular season; the Bruins have won two of the three previous games against the Canadiens.
The Bruins are skating in the second game of a back-to-back; they fell 4-3 in overtime to the New Jersey Devils on Monday at Prudential Center.
“The guys know they’ve got to stay sharp,” Sturm said. “I know we played last night, but we played hard, a lot of hockey. Just have to make sure we’re ready right from the start.”
Boston will have a few changes to its lineup. Mikey Eyssimont will slot back in on the third line with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie, in place of Alex Steeves. Andrew Peeke, who is celebrating his 28th birthday, will be on the third defensive pair with Nikita Zadorov, while Henri Jokiharju draws out.
Wait, There’s More
- Jeremy Swayman will start in net for Boston. The goaltender last played on Saturday against the Washington Capitals, making 26 saves in the shootout win. Swayman has started in all three of the Bruins’ matchups with the Canadiens this season; he most recently made 22 saves in the 4-3 win over Montreal on Jan. 24. He has a 2.77 goals against average and a .906 save percentage through 44 games.
- Jonathan Aspirot is a native of Mascouche, Quebec, which is an hour's drive from Montreal. The undrafted defenseman signed a two-year extension with the Bruins in January after landing in Boston this summer. Aspirot is skating on the first pair with Charlie McAvoy, and has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) through 46 games while averaging 16:36 of ice time per night.
- David Pastrnak scored twice in the Bruins’ overtime loss to the Devils on Tuesday. It was his sixth two-goal game of the season, and he extended his point streak to six games. The 29-year-old forward is driving the “kid line,” alongside Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov. Pastrnak leads the B’s with 81 points (26 goals, 55 assists) through 62 games.
Opposing View
- Montreal most recently fell 4-3 to the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday at Bell Centre. Alex Newhook, Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki scored in the loss, and netminder Jacob Fowler – who played two seasons of NCAA hockey at Boston College – made 24 saves. The Canadiens have won three of their last five games entering Tuesday’s contest.
- Suzuki leads Montreal with 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists) through 66 games. The 26-year-old forward has been centering the first line between Juraj Slafkovsky and Caufield, who has the most goals on the team with 39. All three of them are on the first power-play unit; the Canadiens’ power play ranks seventh in the league at 24.2%.
- Lane Hutson is second in points on the team – and leads all Montreal defensemen – with 11 goals and 56 assists through 66 games. The 22-year-old blueliner is expected to be on the second pair with Jayden Struble and is also on PP1. Hutson played two seasons of NCAA hockey at Boston University (2022-24) before turning pro.
