Aspirot Set for Another Opportunity as Bruins Visit Montreal

MONTREAL – Marco Sturm remembers the feeling well.

There is just something about stepping onto the ice at Bell Centre that gets the juices flowing for the Bruins bench boss.

“It’s gonna be great. I told my coaches, this is my favorite building. Even practice, go out…I don’t know, the look, the smell, everything about it. It brings up a lot of good memories, a lot of good battles, especially with the ‘B’ on the jersey,” said Sturm, who played 27 games in Montreal – including playoffs – during his career and is set for his first tilt as a head coach on Saturday night when the Black & Gold face-off with the Canadiens for the first time this season.

Entering Saturday’s showdown, the Bruins (11-8-0) and Habs (10-5-2) are tied with Ottawa for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, as all three clubs boast 22 points. Both Boston and Montreal are coming off disappointing losses on Thursday night, however, with the B’s seven-game winning streak coming to an end in Ottawa and the Canadiens dropping a 7-0 decision to Dallas on home ice.

“Me personally, I never look at that, I never really do,” Sturm said of the standings. “We had a tough one [Thursday] night, so we want to get back on track and have a really good game and a really good road trip, going home .500. That for me is the biggest thing. The standings, maybe end of the season. But that’s about it.”

Aspirot Going In

There will be a homecoming on Saturday night as Mascouche, Quebec, native Jonathan Aspirot appears set to sub back into the Boston lineup. The 26-year-old made his NHL debut on Oct. 28 against the Islanders and played six games before sitting out the last two as a healthy scratch.

“He’s been great, had a great camp,” said Sturm. “Surprised us, a lot of people in this room. The players like him, he has a good motor, he’s very, very strong on his feet, he can skate, and he can close a lot of pucks. That’s why he’s been really good, especially the way we want to play in our D-zone. I wanted to give him a chance here coming to Montreal and hopefully give him a good game.”

Aspirot, who skated alongside Mason Lohrei during Friday’s practice at Belle Centre, is eager for the opportunity and expects to have a large contingent of family and friends in the stands.

“I think it will be really exciting,” said Aspirot, who hails from about 90 minutes north of Montreal. “I’ve been watching games here since I was a little kid. Be a great thing. Just super happy…there will probably be a few people there watching the game. Hopefully they cheer for the Bruins.”

Friday’s Practice 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

Johnny Beecher

DEFENSEMEN

Nikita Zadorov – Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm – Andrew Peeke

Mason Lohrei – Jonathan Aspirot/Henri Jokiharju

GOALIES

Jeremy Swayman

Joonas Korpisalo