Bruins at Canadiens preview

BRUINS (15-3-5) at CANADIENS (11-7-5)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TSN2, RDS, NESN, NHL.TV

David Krejci will center Boston's top line between forwards Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak; Bergeron is not on the Bruins' road trip and also will miss their game at the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.
Boston looks to win its fourth straight game and extend their point streak to eight games (4-0-3).
The Canadiens attempt to end a four-game winless streak (0-2-2), their longest of the season, after going 4-0-1 in their previous five.

Players to watch

Marchand has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his past seven games and needs two points for 600 in the NHL.
Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past six games.

They said it

"Last time in here they were pretty good. They played hard, they played fast, and it was a tough game, so we're expecting the same thing." -- Bruins forward Brad Marchand on the teams' last meeting, a 5-4 Montreal win on Nov. 5
"Some teams just kind of thrive on that in a way that they want to prove they can handle adversity. And I know that Boston has enough of a leadership group to make sure they have that approach tonight." -- Canadiens coach Claude Julien on Boston playing without injured center Patrice Bergeron

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- David Krejci -- David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk -- Jack Studnicka -- Charlie Coyle
Anders Bjork -- Sean Kuraly -- Danton Heinen
Joakim Nordstrom -- Par Lindholm -- Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug -- Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk -- Connor Clifton
Jaroslav Halak
Tuukka Rask
Scratched: Steven Kampfer, Brendan Gaunce
Injured: Patrice Bergeron (lower body), Brett Ritchie (upper body), David Backes (upper body), John Moore (shoulder), Kevan Miller (knee), Zach Senyshyn (lower body), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia)

Canadiens projected lineup

Tomas Tatar -- Phillip Danault -- Brendan Gallagher
Artturi Lehkonen -- Max Domi -- Nick Suzuki
Charles Hudon -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Joel Armia
Nick Cousins -- Nate Thompson -- Jordan Weal
Ben Chiarot -- Shea Weber
Victor Mete -- Jeff Petry
Mike Reilly -- Cale Fleury
Carey Price
Keith Kinkaid
Scratched: Christian Folin, Brett Kulak
Injured: Jonathan Drouin (wrist), Paul Byron (knee)

Status report

Studnicka will make his NHL debut after being recalled from Providence of the American Hockey League on Monday. He led Providence with 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) in 21 games. … Lindholm is expected to play after missing one game because of a leg laceration. … Canadiens coach Claude Julien made no changes to his lineup, which gave up a 4-0 lead in a 6-5 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Stat pack

Krejci has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past six games and is two goals shy of 200 in the NHL. … Pastrnak has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past four games. … Danault has seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past six games. … Price needs one shutout to tie Ken Dryden (46) for third place on Montreal's all-time list.