The biggest rivalry in hockey resumes Thursday night when the Boston Bruins host the hated Montreal Canadiens in what should be the game of the season to date at 7:00 p.m. EDT at TD Garden (TV/Radio: NESN/98.5 The Sports Hub).
Boston (3-5-0) is in fourth place in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The Bruins are coming off a 4-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday night. Trailing 2-0 entering the third period, the B's mounted a rally to score two goals in less than one minute, with Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin lighting the lamp within the first three and a half minutes of the period, only to see the Sharks strike twice - once on an empty net - to secure the victory.
Seguin is the Bruins' points leader through eight games with nine (three goals, six assists) and Lucic is second in points with six (two goals, four assists). Tim Thomas has a goals against average of 2.16 and has 162 saves on 175 shots in six games this season.
Montreal (2-5-2) has also struggled to start the season and currently sits dead last in the Northeast Division standings. The Habs are fresh off their second win of the season, a convincing 5-1 gutting of the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night. Max Pacioretty scored two goals and Yannick Weber, Andrei Kostitsyn and Michael Cammalleri each added goals.
Pacioretty leads the team in points so far with nine (four goals, five assists) and both Kostitsyn and Tomas Plekanec have six points. Carey Price has started all but one game for the Habs and has 180 saves on 203 shots and has a 2.86 goals against average.
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