Bruins - Canadiens Preview: What You Need To Know About Montreal
BOSTON (CBS) -- The first game of the season for the Bruins was not pretty. And considering the quality and recent success of the B's next opponent, it might not get any better.
The division rival Montreal Canadiens are coming to the TD Garden Saturday night, and the recent history of these two teams can't even qualify as a "rivalry". Montreal hasn't lost to the Bruins in the regular season since March 12, 2014 and has won the last five games in a row. And of course, there was the 2014 six-game second-round playoff series, in which the Habs dismantled the Presidents Trophy-winning Bruins in the final two games by a combined score of 7-1.
The Canadiens finished last season with the second-best record in the league, and tied for the league lead in goals allowed with just 189 (only 2.3 per game). But they only finished middle-of-the-pack in scoring, and it caught up to them in the second round of the playoffs when they fell to the eventual Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning (just 13 goals in 6 games).
Montreal addressed their offensive needs in the offseason, and bring back almost the same roster that has simply owned the Bruins in recent years. If the atrocious defensive performance and lack of finishing by the Bruins in the first game of the season against a decent Winnipeg team was any indication, what's going to happen when they go against one of the league's best?
(Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images)
Here's what you need to know about the Montreal Canadiens for this season...
What's new?
They upgraded on offense, bringing in veterans Alexander Semin and Tomas Fleischmann in hopes of upping their goal totals from a year ago. The aloof Russian has had an up-and-down career, but when he's engaged he can be a high-end scorer. Fleischmann has shown signs of decline in recent seasons, but could contribute solidly as a bottom-six winger. They lost Brandon Prust but adequately replaced his presence with Zack Kassian.
What's NOT new?
P.K. Subban is still an absolute force at both ends of the ice, and will wreak havoc on the Bruins if allowed to skate free. Max Pacioretty said he's still battling a knee injury, but it didn't seem to bother him as he scored two goals in the Canadiens' 3-1 win over Toronto to start the season. Andrei Markov is still a strong top-pairing defenseman at age 36, and many of the same maddening mini-villains - Brendan Gallagher, Tomas Plekanec, Lars Eller, David Desharnais, Dale Wiese - are back to pester the Black & Gold all over again.
Who's in net?
Carey Price, the reigning Hart Trophy winner for League MVP and Vezina Trophy winner, is arguably (maybe not arguably) the league's best goalie, and considering Montreal's middling offense last year, his MVP honors were much-deserved. Whereas the one area the Bruins could have an advantage over most teams is in net with Tuukka Rask, here the Canadiens have a decided advantage - especially considering Rask's 3-13-3 career record against them.
Name To Know:
Plenty of Bruins fans surely know the name Alex Galchenyuk by now. But if you don't, you will soon. The former No. 3-overall pick from Milwaukee could be set for a breakout season as he moves to his natural position of center after three seasons playing wing. He's already gotten going with a goal in the Canadiens' season opener. His combination of good size and creativity with the puck could present major problems for the Bruins defense - Winnipeg has no one as dynamic as Galchenyuk.
How can the Bruins win?
I don't want to say "They can't." But it's going to be a very tough test for the Bruins to overcome, with or without Zdeno Chara on defense. If the Bruins' top two defensemen are tasked with stopping the Canadiens' top line, that could leave Torey Krug, Adam McQuaid, and/or Kevan Miller having to defend against Galchenyuk and Semin. And who's going to slow down Subban?
The one thing the Bruins absolutely, positively need Saturday night is outstanding goaltending from Rask. If the game is in any way similar to Thursday night, Rask is going to face plenty of odd-man rushes and get left out to dry on turnovers. The Bruins will likely need more than a couple of big saves from Rask in order to stay in the game. That, and those who couldn't bury their chances against Winnipeg (Hayes, Connolly, Krug) will need to capitalize on opportunities, because those may be few and far between.
It looks bleak for the Bruins against Montreal Saturday, but who knows...Maybe we get the Bruins that actually showed up in the first period against the Jets, instead of the debacle that followed. What do you think is going to happen in the game?
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
