The Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins renew one of the league’s most storied rivalries tonight, though it’ll likely have a different flavor than what we’ve tasted in the last couple of years.

The Bruins are without Milan Lucic, and Marc Savard, and Phil Kessel now belongs to the Maple Leafs. That’s an entire line of offense missing from a Bruins team that’s starving for goals of late.

The Canadiens can’t seem to keep goals from going in their net with Gill added to an injury list that already includes Ryan O’Byrne and Andrei Markov. Don’t look now, but Brian Gionta is questionable for tonight, though it’s hard to imagine he won’t suit up for this game.

Aside from all the injuries, all of Montreal’s newest additions are being introduced to this rivalry. Steve Begin on the flipside of the fence will play his former team for the first time as a Boston Bruin. Hopefully the game will live up to its physical and intense nature…
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As you undoubtedly know by now, Tom Pyatt and Ryan White have been recalled from the farm. No word on whether either of them will suit up tonight, but if Brian Gionta can’t go, Ryan White could be the one taking his place. If Gionta is good to go, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tom Pyatt took Greg Stewart, or Kyle Chipchura’s spot.
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-So they’ve played one less game, but if I would’ve told you at the beginning of the season that the Bruins would be averaging less goals per game than the Canadiens, you probably would’ve called me crazy. Well…it’s true; Boston has scored 2.21 goals/game on average, while the Canadiens have managed 2.67. The difference is they’ve averaged nearly a goal against less than the Canadiens this season, ranked 8th in the league in the category, while the Canadiens sit at #26.

-Vezina winner Tim Thomas has struggled to find the form that Boston fans celebrated last season. In ten games, he’s 4-6, with a .910SA% and 2.60 Gaa. Tuuka Rask on the other hand is 2-1-1, with a .920SA, and a 2.41 Gaa.

-The Bruins have earned a reputation for spreading out the offense, boasting balanced scoring, but it’s a real shock to see their leading point scorer, Patrice Bergeron, with only 8 points in 14 games. Marc Savard has 7 in 7 games.
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Price or Halak?
You can make an argument for either one of them to start tonight. I’ll say Price is back in…

Habs try to avoid losing 9-straight in Boston…

7:00pm start.

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