Game #38 Sat, 6 Apr 2013 Bruins @ Canadiens 7:00 PM CBC, RDS, NHLN-US

[HabsRuleForever]

BRUINS (24-8-4) at CANADIENS (24-8-5)

TV: CBC, RDS, NHLN-US, NESN

Last 10: Boston 5-4-1; Montreal 6-3-1

Season series: This is the last of four meetings this season between the Original Six rivals. The Montreal Canadiens won the last game 6-5 in a shootout after erasing a two-goal deficit in the last eight minutes of the third period. It was Montreal’s second win in the three games thus far.

Big story: As if the NHL's most heated rivalry needed any added spice to it, this will be the fourth time this season the two teams will meet with first place in the Northeast Division on the line. With so few games left in the season this time around, it takes on extra significance – if that’s possible.

Team Scope:

Bruins: The Boston Bruins won their first game since beefing up at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of Jaromir Jagr and Wade Redden 1-0 against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night, with Jagr scoring the lone goal in his first game with his sixth NHL team.

This will be Jagr’s first taste of the bitter rivalry with Montreal, and he’s excited to experience it firsthand.

“Every game is going to be like a playoff game,” Jagr told the Bruins' website following practice Friday morning. “We found that out [Thursday against New Jersey]. Every point is so important, it's even more important for team's that are fighting for the playoffs for the eighth or seventh spot.

“For us, we want to try to be in first place, so it's going to be a huge game. You want to get ready for the playoffs with games like that.”

Bruins center Chris Kelly, out since March 11 with a fractured tibia, practiced with his teammates Friday and was not ruled out for Saturday night’s game; however, coach Claude Julien was not overly optimistic he would play. Kelly’s defensive presence and strength in the faceoff circle would help mitigate the loss of Patrice Bergeron to a concussion, though he is a player that is impossible to replace, especially considering he has torched Montreal for seven points in three games this season.

Canadiens: The Canadiens did not practice Friday after playing a road game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday and a home game against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. The game against the Bruins will be Montreal’s fifth in seven days, which explains the rest day Friday, though that meant the Canadiens will not have held a full practice in eight days by the time Saturday night rolls around.

“We’re trying to manage the players’ energy as much as we can,” Therrien said following Thursday night’s game. “We need to leave a bit of gas in the tank.”

An argument could be made that the Canadiens don’t particularly need to practice.

Prior to Friday night’s games, Montreal was fourth in the League in goals per game (3.11), seventh in goals against per game (2.38), third in 5-on-5 goals for and against ratio (1.36), seventh in power-play efficiency (21.9 percent) and 12thhon the penalty kill (82 percent).

The status of Tomas Plekanec, who missed Thursday’s game with a groin injury, remains up in the air. He has a goal and four assists in three games against the Bruins this season to lead all Montreal scorers.

Who's hot:

For the Bruins, the line of David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic has six goals and eight assists in its last five games, with Horton scoring four times in that span. In goal, Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin have split the last four games, allowing four goals between them on 134 shots, a save percentage of .970 …

For the Canadiens, left wing Michael Ryder has nine goals in his past 11 games. Defenseman P.K. Subban has a goal and seven assists in his past five games; he scored two goals and added two assists in the first three games against Boston this season.

Injury report:

The Bruins will be without Bergeron, probably Kelly and defenseman Adam McQuaid (shoulder). …

The Canadiens are missing defenseman Raphael Diaz (concussion) and left wing Rene Bourque (concussion). Plekanec is officially considered day-to-day.

This GDT was embellished by CRB/HRF

[ColRouleBleu]

Tim Peel is one of the assigned zebras tonight

[ColRouleBleu]

Habs lines for tonight:

Ryder - Plekanec * - Gionta

Pacioretty - Desharnais - Gallagher

Galchenyuk - Eller - Prust

Moen - Halpern - White

Gorges - Subban

Markov - Emelin

Bouillon - Drewiske

Price starting

* final decision to be taken after warmup

[HabsRuleForever]

Tim Peel is one of the assigned zebras tonight

Well so much for that.

Where's those movie listings?

[Flying_Lion]

Tim Peel is one of the assigned zebras tonight

Yep. That one hates all things 'CH': Montreal and the Hurricanes for sure, probably Chicago, too.

Well so much for that.

Where's those movie listings?

Ha ha!

[habs_93]

Tim Peel is one of the assigned zebras tonight

Well, that's a guaranteed loss.

One of the most consistently awful refs gets assigned one of the most important games of the year. Pardon me if I continue to laugh at NHL front office/officiating defenders.

Rewarding incompetence doesn't work.

[THEBIGGESTHABSFAN123]

I forgot again! Well that's gonna be the last one I ever take again.

Great job HRF and CRB.

[Flying_Lion]

Well, that's a guaranteed loss.

One of the most consistently awful refs gets assigned one of the most important games of the year. Pardon me if I continue to laugh at NHL front office/officiating defenders.

Rewarding incompetence doesn't work.

Rewarding incompetence is an oxymoron. So's Peel. Not sure what to expect tonight.

[habs_93]

Rewarding incompetence is an oxymoron. So's Peel. Not sure what to expect tonight.

I'm thinking we'll get a few legitimate (but in the grand scheme of things "easy") power plays on stuff the Bruins will get away with for the rest of the game, as it's impossible for wastes of space like Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic to have a full shift and not do SOMETHING worth at least 2 minutes. At some point, particularly if we don't score on those power plays, Boston will stop being punished for anything and the soft calls on us will commence. "Interference" off face offs, questionable icings (particularly when weak skaters on Boston like Chara or Thornton let the puck coast by them), dives working, etc. And of course without Plekky, I'd imagine Peel will have to flip a coin in his head to pick who he thinks the Habs' most important penalty killer is. Then that guy will sit with 5 or so minutes left in the third if it's a close game.

So, basically, about the usual.

[Guest]

I forgot again! Well that's gonna be the last one I ever take again.

Great job HRF and CRB.

Where's Donald Trump when you need him?

Great job on the substitute thread BTW

[ColRouleBleu]

Quick, accurate sketches of Chara and Marchand via @meighenhabs on twitter

[Guest]

Quick, accurate sketches of Chara and Marchand via @meighenhabs on twitter

:lol: I think you got the colour of Marchant's eyes wrong.

[habs_93]

That's a bit small to be Marchand's nose.

[Forever_Habs10]

[Guest]

Take care of Chara time...

[ColRouleBleu]

Take care of Chara time...

indeed

[Forever_Habs10]

Plekanec is officially considered day-to-day.

Tomas Plekanec, who missed Thursday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets with a groin injury, took to the ice Saturday morning with his Canadiens teammates in Brossard as they prepared to face the Boston Bruins

Canadiens coach Michel Therrien had listed Plekanec as “day-to-day”, but his policy this season has been to err on the side of caution when bringing players back from injuries.

[Forever_Habs10]

This GDT was embellished by CRB/HRF

[habs_93]

Take care of Chara time...

I've hated a lot of NHL players in my time. McLaren, McSorley, Cooke, Simon, Torres, Marchment, basically the entire Flyers roster between 1994 and 2011, Tucker, Moore, Domi, Neil, just to name a few... but nothing compares to Chara. Plenty of the other ones have done things equally as awful as Chara, if not worse so in some instances. And against Habs players, too. But none of the other ones continue to be lionized as inherently clean players above reproach. The media doesn't come running to the defence of anyone else at the drop of a hat. Nobody else gets the completely unearned and unwarranted benefit of the doubt that Chara does. None of the other ones were ever as overrated as Chara, either. He's the most teflon-coated scumbag that's played in the NHL in at least twenty years, and I can't wait until I've seen the last of him. My television has been darkened by his presence enough.

And that was the forum-friendly version of how I feel about Chara.

[HabsRuleForever]

[FirstStar]

Quick, accurate sketches of Chara and Marchand via @meighenhabs on twitter

Isn't chara suppose to only have one eye in the middle of his forehead?

[kinot-1]

Isn't chara suppose to only have one eye in the middle of his forehead?

You mean this one?

Excellant patchwork GDT, BTW.

[Innis_Mor]

Take care of Chara time...

In two easy steps:

1. Wait for Chara to get on the ice
2. Give one of the Bruin girls a little push and watch them fall down: Sequin and Krejc are usually good for it

Prepare yourself as Lurch goes postal.

5-minute power-play; and Lurch having dinner in the penalty box for 17 minutes.

[Innis_Mor]

In two easy steps:

1. Wait for Chara to get on the ice
2. Give one of the Bruin girls a little push and watch them fall down: Sequin and Krejc are usually good for it

Prepare yourself as Lurch goes postal.

5-minute power-play; and Lurch having dinner in the penalty box for 17 minutes.

[spyVSspy]

Brandon Prust: ''Like I said we don't care about other teams, we don't care about their crazee, ahh coach... we're not diving all over the place, I've seen some of their highlight reels'' lol.