Boston Bruins vs. Montreal Canadiens: Predictions and Odds

Where: Bell Centre – Montreal, PQ., Canada

When: Tuesday, November 26, 7PM EST

How (TV/Radio): NESN | WFAN

Boston Bruins (Away)

Head Coach: Bruce Cassidy {All-Time 179, 102, 9, 34 BOS, WSH}

IF you didn’t think the Boston Bruins were dangerous, feel free to scroll down and check out how big their injury listing is.

Even with superstars like Patrice Bergeron and David Backes out of the lineup, this is still one dangerous team.

They are first in the Atlantic Division with a 15-3-5 record and they are currently on a three-game winning streak.

Offense

The second-most goals scored in the league: 83.

The third-best power-play percentage: 30.99 percent.

The sixth-most even-strength goals: 61.

The third-best shooting percentage: 11.3 percent.

This team is dangerous. David Pastrnak still leads the NHL in goals scored with 20 he and Brad Marchand have combined for 75 points this season.

The only duo with more is McDavid/Draisaitl from Edmonton. Even their weakest offensive statistic, their face-off percentage, ranks higher than the Montreal Canadiens.

Their only disadvantage here: shots on goal.

They don’t take as many as Montreal but with a shooting percentage of 11.3, it’s quality over quantity.

Defense

The Boston Bruins rank third when it comes to the fewest goals scored against.

They have allowed only a combined 56 goals – only 43 of them at even strength.

They have struggled a bit on the power play, however, as they average almost ten minutes a game (seventh-highest average in the league) and kill off only 82.19 percent of those minutes – 16th in the league.

But goalies Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak have combined for a team save percentage of .924 – the second-highest in the entire NHL.

An interesting note though is that the Boston Bruins are one of only six teams to not have scored a short-handed goal yet this season.

Goaltending

It is expected that the Bruins will have backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak in net Tuesday night against the Habs.

Calling Halak a backup, however, is a disservice to the netminder as he has recorded a season record thus far of 4-1-3.

He has a goals-against-average of 2.57, a .924 save percentage, and one shutout.

Head Coach: Claude Julien {All-Time 638, 416, 10, 144 MTL, BOS, NJD}

Sitting third in the Atlantic division, the Montreal Canadiens took a huge hit (literally) when they lost forward Jonathan Drouin to injury last week.

They are currently riding a four-game losing streak and are 4-3-3 in their last ten games.

Offense

Montreal is hard-pressed to outscore Boston Tuesday night. Montreal has combined for the eighth-most shots on goal this season. It’s the only stat they surpass Boston in.

But as mentioned, it really comes down to shooting percentage, and the Habs rank 12th in that category.

Montreal is eighth in the league in total goals but without Jonathan Drouin in the lineup, they continue to slide.

Their power play ranks 17th in the NHL with a 19.4 percent and they rank 18th in faceoffs with a 49.8 percent.

This does not look like the same team that defeated Boston on November 5.

Defense

It won’t get any easier for the Habs on the defensive end of things either.

Montreal ranks 20th in most goals allowed per game on average and has allowed the 11th-most goals against in the league total.

They do average fewer penalty minutes per game than Boston. The closest statistical comparison between these two teams in shots allowed.

In fact, Montreal has allowed only four more shots against the Boston Bruins this season.

Simply put, Carey Price may have his hands full in this matchup. But, if any goalie can handle the pressure, it’s him.

Goaltending

The Montreal Canadiens are expected to have their premier goaltender Carey Price between the pipes Tuesday night against their bitter rivals.

Price has a season record of 10-6-3. His GAA sits at 2.89 and he has a save percentage of .907.

Like Halak, Price also has one shutout on the season.

These two teams last faced off earlier in the month on November 5.

It was Montreal that pulled off the upset in a high scoring affair, beating the Boston Bruins by a final score of 5-4.

What’s at Stake?

We have two streaks at stake here: Boston’s three wins in a row and Montreal’s four losses in a row.

One team wants to extend their streak as one desperately wants to snap theirs.

Beyond that, these are two of the biggest rivals in NHL history and bragging rights are always on the line.

With Montreal winning the last contest, expect the Bruins to fire on all cylinders just to avenge the loss.

Regardless of injuries, this should be a gritty affair.

Questions to Answer

Is the loss of Jonathan Drouin as big of a loss to the Habs as it seems?

Can they pull off a victory without him? Or is their season already lost with him on the sidelines?

Can Jaroslav Halak further solidify that the Boston Bruins have the most talented goaltending tandem in the league?

Are Halak and Rask interchangeable?

Whose streak will end? Will the Bruins come out full force and take advantage of Montreal’s weakened offense to avenge their loss from earlier this month?

Will this game be further proof that this is one of the best rivalries in all of professional sport?

F Patrice Bergeron – OUT (lower-body)

D John Moore – IR/NR (shoulder)

F David Backes – DL (upper-body)

F Brett Ritchie – OUT (infection)

D Kevan Miller – IR/NR (kneecap)

F Anton Blidh – IR/NR (shoulder)

F Zach Senshyn – DL (lower-body)

F Karson Kuhlman – DL (leg)

Montreal Canadiens Injury Report

F Paul Byron – OUT (knee)

F Jonathan Drouin – DL (wrist)

Boston Bruins vs Montreal Canadiens – Game Odds

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