Montreal Canadiens: Bruin up some trouble for Boston
By Omar L
It’s a rivalry night for the Montreal Canadiens as they look to make it three wins in a row against the Boston Bruins at the Bell Centre.
The Montreal Canadiens are going into this game having won their last two. Beating the Vancouver Canucks was one thing, but playing as well as they did against the Tampa Bay Lightning was impressive. It makes you think how the season would be now if they had the same effort and execution back in October.
However, the Habs are in the position they are in now, and that is being the underdog. If they hope to aspire to Marc Bergevin‘s optimism, this is a must win. Unfortunately, the Boston Bruins may have the same mentality considering the Habs are a non-playoff team at the moment and are in a race with the Toronto Maple Leafs to get home-ice advantage.
Add on to the fact that games against the Bruins usually get heated anyway, and fans are in for an exciting night.
It looks like the line adjustments that Claude Julien made at yesterday’s practice are going to stick meaning Charles Hudon, Jonathan Drouin, and Alex Galchenyuk will be a thing to watch. Hudon has been in the same camp as Brendan Gallagher and Andrew Shaw in terms of season-wide consistency, but he hasn’t been able to capitalize on the number of chances that come his way each game.
Say what you will about Drouin’s ability to play center, but he has set up a lot of players on the Habs. Additionally, both Drouin and Hudon have played with each other in the past. I’m not talking about early this season; I mean back in 2013. The two were part of Team QMJHL for the Subway Super Series against Russia and created some magic on the ice.
Yes, that was four years ago, but if they can rekindle a similar level of production, that line could do a lot of damage.
Additionally, many will be keeping an eye on Victor Mete as he will be dressing for the Habs tonight as well. Claude Julien told media after practice that the team brought him back with the intention of him playing. It isn’t a guaranteed how much that is exactly, but hopefully, it’s more than ten minutes.
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Even though Mete is up in the NHL, he’s still a young player that needs to be developed, and that includes giving him the freedom to contribute to the team.
When it comes to the Bruins, their top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak have been turning heads as of late. You probably saw Bergeron’s four-goal performance against the Carolina Hurricanes while both Marchand and Pastrnak found the back of the net in their latest overtime loss to Pittsburgh.
If Montreal can’t keep that line contained, then it’s going to be a bad time for them as they are an all-encompassing trio of speed and heavy play. You also have to look at Tuukka Rask who is giving Boston another good season of goaltending.
It could be a battle of netminders between him and Carey Price who has continued to be the team’s MVP since returning from injury.
This game could go either way, and it’ll be interesting to see if the Montreal Canadiens can force it to go in their favour.
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What are your expectations for the game? Can the Habs pull off a win? Will the Galchenyuk-Drouin-Hudon line work? Let us know what you think in the comments below.