The Boston Bruins improved their record to 14-0-1 in their last 15 games against the Montreal Canadiens dating back to November 26, 2019.

By Rick Stephens, Rocket Sports, Montreal Canadiens Blogger

GAME RECAP | Montreal Canadiens 4 vs Boston Bruins 6 | FINAL

Canadiens Lineup

Forwards
13 Cole Caufield - 14 Nick Suzuki - 20 Juraj Slafkovsky
15 Alex Newhook - 77 Kirby Dach - 40 Joel Armia
17 Josh Anderson - 71 Jake Evans - 11 Brendan Gallagher
27 Alex Barre-Boulet - 28 Christian Dvorak - 91 Oliver Kapanen

Defensemen
8 Mike Matheson - 21 Kaiden Guhle
48 Lane Hutson - 58 David Savard
72 Arber Xhekaj - 52 Justin Barron

Goaltenders
Starter: 30 Cayden Primeau
Alternate: 35 Sam Montembeault

Out of the lineup
Scratches: Michael Pezzetta, Emil Heineman
Injuries: Carey Price, Rafael Harvey-Pinard, Patrik Laine, Jayden Struble

Game Report

The Boston Bruins continued their recent dominance over the Canadiens with a 6-4 win at TD Garden. The Habs haven't beaten their bitter rivals in regulation time in the past 15 contests.

It would be easy to place the loss at the pads of goaltender Cayden Primeau. After Brendan Gallagher brought the Canadiens to within one goal with less than five minutes remaining, Primeau gave up a deflating goal just 17 seconds later to end the Montreal comeback.

It's fair to say that Primeau looked shaky and uncomfortable in the crease all evening. But the Canadiens newly-revamped defensive zone system was shot full of holes for the second straight night. Mike Matheson, David Savard, Justin Barron and Arber Xhekaj were each on the ice for three Boston goals. In addition, it was rare to see a Montreal forward win a defensive zone faceoff in the first period.

It has been a less than ideal start to the campaign for the Canadiens top line. The trio of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky were buried by their Boston and Toronto counterparts over the first two games of the season. Scoring chances were recorded as 11-1 for the opposition against the first line during the first two games of the season.

And then there's the issue of back-to-back games. Montreal had a record of 1-11-1 in the second game of a back-to-back situation last season. The one win was recorded against the Chicago Blackhawks, the team that finished 31st in the standings in 2023-24.

The Canadiens have 15 back-to-back games on the schedule this season.

Back-to-backs are a reality of the NHL and are a portion of the game where coaching can make a difference. Whether its game preparation, practise scheduling, bench management or the use of his extra players, Marty St. Louis hasn't yet found the right combination to be effective handling this situation.

Montreal must significantly improve their record in the second game of back-to-backs if they have any intention of being 'in the mix' this season.

"We have to understand how to play a disciplined second period on the road," said Brendan Gallagher. "The game kinda slipped away from us. We pushed in the third, but it was too tough to come back. It was a tough test, and it's something we're going to learn from."

Quick hits

⦁ The Canadiens power play has scored in two consecutive games to start the season. And on Thursday, it was the second wave of the power play that scored, thanks in large part to Lane Hutson.

⦁ Brendan Gallagher has two goals in two games.

⦁ Oliver Kapanen made his rookie lap during the warmup and went on to record his first NHL point assisting on Josh Anderson's third period goal.

⦁ Kaiden Guhle and Lane Huston led the way on defense. They each had two assists and were not on the ice for any of Boston's goals.

Up Next
The Canadiens return to Montreal to begin a three-game homestand on Saturday against the Ottawa Senators.

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