The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens typically need little motivation entering head-to-head matchups during their storied Original Six rivalry.
That remains true entering their Tuesday date in Montreal. Just look at the Eastern Conference standings, where Boston — the current second wild-card team — is now just one point behind its arch rival for third place in the Atlantic Division.
“It’s a big game. Fun,” Bruins forward David Pastrnak said. “Finally, Montreal and Boston fighting for their lives in playoffs, so it should be a good one.”
Adding even more fuel is the fact that both teams lost valuable points in their most recent game.
The Bruins enter the second game of a back-to-back after slipping 4-3 in overtime to the New Jersey Devils on Monday in Newark, N.J.
“It’s frustrating because we played such a good first period (taking a 2-0 lead), and the way we came out in the second, that’s night and day for me,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said. “If you play like that, that’s what you get.”
Boston is just 1-3-5 in its past nine road games, though defenseman Charlie McAvoy has recorded a point in eight straight away from home.
Despite the loss, the Bruins have Pastrnak riding high again. The winger’s point streak reached six games (four goals, five assists) after a two-goal performance against the Devils. He reached the 25-goal plateau for the fifth straight season.
The effort came as Pastrnak reunited on a line with Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten, a combination that worked well earlier in the season.
“I felt like there was something missing as a group,” Sturm said before the Monday game. “That’s why I went back to the ‘kid line.'”
The Tuesday contest will be a major bounce-back opportunity for Montreal, which had a four-game points streak (3-0-1) snapped with consecutive home losses to the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks over the weekend.
After trailing the Ducks 2-0 early in the second period on Sunday, the Canadiens rallied for three unanswered goals and were 2:30 away from sending the game to overtime and gaining a huge point in the standings. However, Cutter Gauthier’s go-ahead tally for Anaheim sent Montreal to a 4-3 defeat.
“I found late in the third period, the last six or seven minutes, we didn’t manage risk properly,” Montreal coach Martin St. Louis said. “I felt we were too aggressive and lacked a bit of execution. We gave up good chances late in the game that we didn’t have to give them.”
On top of the loss on the scoreboard, Montreal lost forward Kirby Dach to an upper-body injury after taking a hit from Anaheim’s Jeffrey Viel in the first period. Dach’s status for Tuesday remained undetermined, though general manager Kent Hughes did not expect it to be a long-term issue.
Regardless, the message for the Canadiens remains the same as they seek two points against a division competitor.
“That’s what the league is right now: a lot of desperation from pretty much every team you’re going to play,” Montreal forward Brendan Gallagher said. “We didn’t quit when we were down. They didn’t quit when they were down. It just comes down to execution. A couple of plays here and there. We have to up our level right now.”
Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist to lead the Canadiens against the Ducks, giving him points in three straight and seven of his past eight games. Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield also lit the lamp.
The Bruins hold a 2-1-0 edge over the Canadiens entering the finale of the four-game season series.
