The recipe for a good rivalry typically does not need another dash of spice.
With both teams coming off hard losses and sitting tied atop the Atlantic Division standings, it could mean a little something extra when the Montreal Canadiens host the Boston Bruins in the storied rivals’ first meeting of the season Saturday night.
“I never really look (at the standings). We had a tough one (Thursday), so we want to get back on track and have a really good game,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “That’s the biggest thing for me. The standings, maybe the end of the season, but that’s about it.”
Boston had a seven-game win streak snapped with a 5-3 loss against the Ottawa Senators in the first half of its two-game Canadian road trip. Montreal, meanwhile, was handed its second straight setback in a 7-0 rout against the Dallas Stars on home ice.
The Bruins had chances in Canada’s capital city, clawing back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the game in the third period before allowing two goals in the final 5:43. Thanks in large part to what Sturm described as “fixable mistakes,” the result was Boston’s first loss since Oct. 27, also in Ottawa.
“We kind of shot ourselves in the foot, it felt like,” Bruins forward Morgan Geekie said. “It’s just happened a couple too many times this year to be OK with it. … We didn’t start very well, but I think all game, we got better and better. It’s always tough to see those ones slip away.”
Geekie has seven points in his last five games and a team-leading 12 goals this season. David Pastrnak has scored in three straight, with his latest goal tying him for fifth on the franchise’s career list (402). Both had a goal and an assist on Thursday.
Based on Friday’s practice, it appears that Boston will swap in Quebec native Jonathan Aspirot on defense, with Henri Jokiharju skating as the extra. The 26-year-old Aspirot has played in his first six career NHL games this season.
For Montreal, it has been a tough two-game stretch.
On top of scoring just once across consecutive losses since the end of a six-game point streak (4-0-2), goaltenders Sam Montembeault and Jakub Dobes have had a tough week.
Montembeault has been struggling (.857 save percentage), so after a 5-1 Tuesday loss to the Los Angeles Kings, Dobes drew the Thursday start and was pulled after allowing five goals on 13 shots in two periods.
The Canadiens were shut out for the first time this season despite a 24-19 shot advantage.
“I still think we’re a confident group. We’re just hitting a little roadblock right now,” Habs coach Martin St. Louis said. “It happens to every team. And we’re going to keep pushing.”
To make matters worse, forward Alex Newhook left with a lower-body injury after crashing into the end boards in the second period and underwent surgery Friday to repair a fractured ankle.
Newhook, who is tied for second in the Montreal lineup with six goals, trailing only Cole Caufield (12), is expected to miss four months.
The Canadiens also announced Friday that defenseman Kaiden Guhle, who has been out the past 12 games, will be out another 8-10 weeks after undergoing surgery Thursday to repair a partially torn adductor muscle.
While good goaltending can help turn the tide, Montreal will need more from everyone, especially with a key player like Newhook out for such an extended period.
“It’s just like any other two players on our team. They’re trying their very best to give everything they can to the success of the team, just like I am,” defenseman and alternate captain Mike Matheson said. “It’s always the fault of the whole team. It’s not just one or two players.”
