Canadiens vs. Bruins Preview
Boston, MA (AP) – The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens had three-game winning streaks snapped in their last outings. With a chance to pull even with Boston atop the Northeast Division, Montreal hopes its recent domination of the series helps it get back on track Wednesday night at TD Garden.
The Canadiens (30-19-5) have won five straight and eight of nine meetings with the Bruins, including three this season. Max Pacioretty had a goal and an assist in each of the last two matchups, scoring in overtime for a 3-2 victory Jan. 8 in the latest one.
According to NHL odds and oddsmakers from online sports book SBGGLOBAL.com have made the Bruins -155 money line favorites for Wednesday’s game against the Canadiens. Current NHL Public Betting Information shows that 78% of more than 345 bets for this game have been placed on the Bruins -155.
Brian Gionta scored the tying goal with 47.7 seconds remaining in that game and has a goal in all three contests.
Carey Price lost for the third time in five starts Sunday, 4-1 to New Jersey. He might get the chance to bounce back versus the Bruins, against whom he is 3-0-0 with a 1.97 goals-against average this season and 6-0-0 with a 1.47 GAA in his last six starts.
Defenseman P.K. Subban, who scored in Montreal’s 3-1 win over Boston on Nov. 11, got his sixth goal of the season Sunday.
“It was just one of those games where the puck just didn’t bounce our way in the first five minutes, but that’s hockey,” Subban said.
The Canadiens have gone 0 for 22 on the power play over their last five games, but they’ve converted on three of 10 opportunities against the Bruins this season.
Boston, coming off a 2-0 loss to San Jose on Saturday, found out Monday that center Marc Savard will be sidelined for the rest of the season. Savard had not played since Jan. 22, when he suffered his second concussion in less than a year.
“It’s tough to understand why this happened,” said Savard, who had two goals and eight assists in 25 games. “It will take time and patience, those two things I don’t feel like I have much of.”
The Bruins (30-16-7) held the Sharks to 18 shots, the fewest they’ve allowed all season.
“I don’t think we played a bad game,” coach Claude Julien said. “It was a tight game both ways, but we need to get better along the boards.”
Center Patrice Bergeron has eight points in his last six games, and scored twice against Montreal on Jan. 8. His 11 goals versus the Canadiens are his most against any team, and his 16 assists in the series are tied for his most.
Tim Thomas made 16 saves against San Jose and is 25-6-6 with a league-leading 1.80 GAA. However, he lost both times he faced the Canadiens this season and has gone 0-2-2 with a 3.44 GAA in his last four starts against them.
Montreal has won four straight in Boston, limiting the Bruins to four goals, and taken nine of the last 12 matchups there.
The Canadiens may have to play their third straight game without defenseman James Wisniewski, who is battling an illness. Wisniewski has a goal and six assists in six career games versus the Bruins.
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