After beating the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, one of its notorious executioners in recent years, the Canadiens will face off on Thursday against the Boston Bruins, another team racking up successes at their expense.
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The task that awaits the Montreal team at TD Garden promises to be even more daunting.
Head coach Jim Montgomery’s men are having a dream season with 54 wins and 113 points.
At the top of the National Hockey League (NHL) standings, they have won four straight games and lost only six of their 34 home games, including three in overtime.
Do the Habs have a chance to capitalize on the momentum of the 3-2 triumph over the Bolts?
At first glance no, even if everything is played on the ice. On his only campaign visit to Massachusetts, he will be looking to break an eight-game losing streak against his longtime rivals.
His last win against the Bruins dates back to November 5, 2019, when he won 5-4 at Bell Center. Since then, the CH has been content with a point in the confrontation with the archenemy and is dominated in terms of goals with 37 to 13.
If that can encourage some die-hard Sainte-Flanelle fans, things weren’t looking bad when the NHL leader visited Montreal earlier this season.
On January 24, Patrice Bergeron broke the tie with less than three minutes to go to give his team a 4-2 win.
Much luck
Despite this respectable performance, the Bleu Blanc Rouge seems to be struggling with the comparison game.
Individually, Nick Suzuki leads the club with 55 points. That’s a little over half of David Pastrnak’s (93) total post in Boston.
The Oursons’ sniper has found the net 48 times, while Cole Caufield still leads the Montreal side with 26 goals despite being sidelined for a few months.
In the differential column, two Bruins color carriers have crossed the +40 mark: Hampus Lindholm (+46) and Matt Grzelcyk (+42), but Brandon Carlo isn’t far behind +39.
Rafaël Harvey-Pinard (+6) and Mike Matheson (+5) lead alongside Martin St-Louis’ squad.
They will play the last duel of the CH campaign on April 13th at the Bell Center with the Bruins.