The 13-4-1 Bruins host the Canadiens tonight at TD Garden, and Marco Sturm made it clear Wednesday where this one ranks for him.
Puck drop is 7 p.m. ET, per the team. Boston has won four straight and sits first in the Atlantic, while Montreal arrives third in the division and these two haven't met yet this season.
Sturm told reporters that a friend asked him just yesterday about his biggest rivalry, and the answer came fast.
According to the post, Sturm said it's "still Montreal, for sure. Not even close." He pointed to the games he played against them, in the regular season and the playoffs, and said what he experienced as a coach last year hasn't changed.
Charlie McAvoy sounded a little surprised by the schedule itself.
McAvoy said he didn't even realize the Bruins hadn't played really any division games, adding that you get caught in the flow of a season. He also said he'd seen the emotion in his first division game of the year the other day.
That matters because the standings are tight. Boston has 27 points and Montreal has 26, so tonight's result decides who owns the top of the division.
The Bruins are 8-1-0 at home and 7-2-1 over their last 10. Their goal differential is +27, compared with +7 for the Canadiens.
Can the Canadiens' goalie plan slow Boston down?
Montreal starts Jacob Fowler, with Samuel Montembeault staying home to continue his recovery. We covered the Canadiens' Fowler decision this morning.
Fowler has 11 games played this season. Boston's top line should test him early, and David Pastrnak leads the team with 24 points in 18 games.
Nick Suzuki, Jake Evans and Mike Matheson did make the trip, so Montreal isn't coming short on forwards. Suzuki has 7 goals and 16 points in 12 games, and he'll be the one the Bruins have to track.
Boston's lines from practice are John-Jason Peterka with Pavel Zacha and Pastrnak, and Michael Eyssimont with Fraser Minten and Morgan Geekie.
The second line is the one to watch. Eyssimont scored in his only game this season, and Minten arrives with 6 goals and a +11 rating. We noted that Eyssimont lineup change on Wednesday.
Boston hands out a rivalry game with the division lead attached, and Sturm has already told everyone how much it means to him. Montreal, with a different goalie and a short-handed blue line, has to answer on the ice.
More to come.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
Will the Bruins hold the Atlantic lead after tonight's game against the Canadiens?
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