MONTREAL – This wasn’t your average mid-November game. Saturday night’s Bruins-Canadiens matchup at the Bell Centre had a little extra juice before the game, at the opening faceoff, and throughout all 60 minutes.
The Skate Pod: Bruins-Habs rivalry is BACK
In a game that featured multiple fights, a lot of hits, a lot of penalties, some skilled individual plays, and a gruesome injury for Charlie McAvoy, Boston ultimately came away with a hard-fought 3-2 win that now has them alone in first place in the Atlantic Division.
Here are five takeaways from an exciting night in Montreal:
The rivalry is back
With these two teams entering the night tied for first in the Atlantic Division, there was more buzz than there’s been for a Bruins-Canadiens game in years.
Nikita Zadorov and Jayden Struble made sure it didn’t take long to pay off that buzz and reignite the rivalry, as they dropped the gloves right off the opening faceoff and brought the 21,000 people packed into the Bell Centre to their feet with a spirited bout.
Less than four minutes later, Tanner Jeannot and Arber Xhekaj joined the fight card to cap off a shift that featured several big hits both ways. Jeannot got the decisive victory in that one, dropping Xhekaj with a pop to the face.
Mark Kastelic tried to make it three fights in the first period when he challenged Josh Anderson, but Anderson wanted no part of it and goaded Kastelic into a two-minute roughing penalty instead.
There was a ton of physicality from both teams, including a couple big open-ice hits, and the Montreal crowd was electric most of the night. It’s early, and just how good either of these teams will actually be in a few months remains to be seen, but at least for one night, this had an old-school Bruins-Habs feel to it. These teams next meet on Dec. 23 when the Canadiens visit TD Garden.
Bruins’ PK comes up huge
Along with all that physicality came a lot of penalties. Which you might have expected to lead to a lot of power-play goals given that both teams entered the night with top-10 power plays on the season.
The Bruins’ penalty kill did a terrific job shutting down the Canadiens’ power play, though. The Habs finished the night 0-for-7 on the man advantage, and that included two extended 5-on-3s.
Charlie McAvoy, in particular, was absolutely massive on the kill, coming up with several critical blocks – including, unfortunately, the very painful one that ended his night (more on that next).
Pavel Zacha made a couple crucial steals, including one during a 5-on-3. Sean Kuraly played a whopping 6:53 on the PK, including a large chunk of those 5-on-3s. Hampus Lindholm topped five minutes on the PK. Nikita Zadorov was right behind him. Jeremy Swayman wasn’t tested as much as you might think (the Habs had six shots on their seven PPs), but stepped up with some big saves when called upon.
After three straight calls against Boston in the second, the Bruins finally got a power play of their own late in the period and took advantage, with Zacha setting up Viktor Arvidsson with a nifty between-the-legs pass. That goal, which was the 200th of Arvidsson’s career, ultimately proved to be the game-winner.
The Bruins did give up a shorthanded goal earlier in the game, but that was the only real blemish on an otherwise strong night for Boston’s special teams.
A scary injury for McAvoy
Charlie McAvoy left the game with 8:59 remaining in the second period after taking a Noah Dobson slap shot straight to the mouth while killing a penalty. He needed to be helped off the ice, leaving behind some blood and probably a couple teeth. McAvoy, unsurprisingly, did not return to the game.
After the game, Bruins coach Marco Sturm said McAvoy was doing “OK,” but was still getting some testing done. He was hoping that McAvoy would be cleared to fly back to Boston with the team Saturday night. It’s unclear how much time McAvoy might miss.
McAvoy was having a great game until the injury, coming up with a couple other key blocks on the penalty kill and also delivering a big open-ice hit on Juraj Slafkovsky. He has been playing very good hockey in general during this 8-1-0 run for the Bruins, a stretch that has coincided with McAvoy getting paired with Zadorov.
The injury bug bit the Bruins again late in the third period when Viktor Arvidsson, who scored the winning goal, left with a lower-body injury. Sturm said Arvidsson will be “out,” but that he wasn’t yet sure for how long.
Arvidsson, too, has been playing very good hockey of late, so that would be another blow. Add it to Elias Lindholm and Casey Mittelstadt already being out with week-to-week timelines, and the Bruins’ depth is really getting tested here.
Khusnutdinov continues his case to remain on first line
At morning skate Saturday, Sturm was asked what Marat Khusnutdinov has done effectively as the center on the top line between David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie. He highlighted his ability to hunt pucks and win them back, helping to create more offensive-zone time for his talented linemates.
That’s exactly what Khusnutdinov did on the game’s opening goal, which came during a 4-on-4. After a Bruins turnover, Khusnutdinov pounced on Noah Dobson and won the puck right back. He moved it to Zadorov, who moved it to Pastrnak, who made a great pass through the seam back to Khusnutdinov for the finish.
Khusnutdinov now has five points in nine games since getting moved to the first line, which might not jump off the page. But it’s more about just how good that line has looked, especially compared to earlier in the season when Pastrnak, Geekie and Elias Lindholm were really struggling to get much going at 5-on-5.
In 74 5-on-5 minutes with Khusnutdinov between Pastrnak and Geekie, the Bruins have outscored opponents 4-2 and have an expected goals share of 55.3%. Wondering what the Bruins do with Khusnutdinov when Lindholm returns kind of feels pointless right now as other injuries continue to mount, but Khusnutdinov is certainly making a case to stay right where he is.
Lohrei continues to respond
Make it four points in four games for Mason Lohrei since returning from his five straight healthy scratches. Lohrei scored Boston’s second goal Saturday, taking a pass from Mark Kastelic at the left point and snapping off a quick shot that beat Sam Montembeault over the blocker.
Lohrei now has 10 points on the season, which is tied for fifth on the team. Of course, offense wasn’t the reason he started getting scratched; it was his defense. Well, he has also been on the ice for just one goal against over these last four games.
The defensive questions will probably continue to linger, but you’re also seeing why the Bruins want to keep giving Lohrei opportunities – because of the way he can impact the game with his offense. The Bruins are going to need even more of that if McAvoy misses any extended period of time.