(SportsNetwork.com) – The Montreal Canadiens will try to complete a
season sweep of the Boston Bruins when the Original Six rivals meet Sunday at
TD Garden.
The Canadiens have won four straight and nine of the last 10 regular-season
meetings against Boston and own a 3-0 mark in the 2014-15 season series.
Montreal also beat the B’s in last season’s conference semifinals, edging
Boston in seven games.
Not including the 2014 postseason encounter, Montreal has won five straight at
Boston’s TD Garden. The Habs posted a 2-0 win in Beantown when the Atlantic
Division foes last met on Nov. 22. Carey Price made 33 saves for the shutout
victory, while Tomas Plekanec led the Canadiens offense with a goal and an
assist.
The Canadiens ended a four-game homestand with a victory on Saturday, pounding
the New Jersey Devils, 6-2. The lopsided victory halted a two-game slide and
gave Montreal its sixth win in eight games.
Plekanec and Dale Weise each scored two goals to help the Habs cruise past the
Devils at the Bell Centre. P.K. Subban had three power-play assists and Price
stopped 21 shots for the win. David Desharnais joined Subban with three
assists.
Montreal scored on all three of its chances with the man advantage, while
thwarting New Jersey’s only power-play opportunity.
“The power-play goals gave us a lot of life tonight,” said Montreal coach
Michel Therrien.
The Canadiens enter Sunday in third place in the Atlantic Division and hold a
six-point edge over the fourth-place Bruins. Montreal also trails Detroit and
Tampa Bay by two points for the division lead. The Red Wings are idle Sunday,
while the Lightning are hosting the Anaheim Ducks.
Boston also is coming off a victory on Saturday, as it posted a 2-1 regulation
win over the visiting New York Islanders. It was the Bruins’ third win in four
games and pushed Boston’s record over the last 12 outings to 9-2-1.
Loui Eriksson netted the game-winner in the latter stages of the third period
and Tuukka Rask stopped 39 shots to help the Bruins edge the Isles.
“I like the way we handled the third,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “We
came out there with a little bit more determination.”
Patrice Bergeron recorded the other goal for the Bruins, who are holding onto
the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. Boston is seven points
ahead of Florida for that distinction and only trails the New York Rangers by
one point for the first wild card berth.
It is unclear if Rask will start on consecutive days or if backup netminder
Malcolm Subban, the 24th overall pick of the 2012 draft who was recalled last
week, will make his NHL debut. Subban, of course, is the younger brother of
Montreal’s star defenseman, P.K. Subban.
Likewise, it is uncertain if Therrien will opt to play Price on back-to-back
days or if backup Dustin Tokarski will get the call versus the Bruins.
