The Habs Take On Bruins In Huge Game Tonight

The Canadiens will hope to put an end to the Bruins’ current hot run by beating their rivals by playing their style of game and not getting drawn into a game where physicality dictates the result. Nonetheless, the Habs are making a key lineup change to make sure they will be ready to have more physicality in the lineup for what may be another physical affair between these 2 teams. In both meetings this season, fights broke out early in the game that showed just how much bad blood these teams have. Now that they continue to be so close in the standings, expect tonight to be just as rough, if not more so, than the previous games.

This is why defenseman Arber Xhekaj will be drawing into the lineup for Jayden Struble. Xhekaj will serve as a presence that will retaliate if the Bruins’ bigger, more physical players try to go after the Habs’ skilled players. While Struble can be physical, he doesn’t bring the same reputation that Xhekaj has, and honestly, he hasn’t played well enough to merit his spot over Xhekaj. The reality is regardless of the physical impact that Xhekaj brings, his defensive game as a whole has been better than Struble’s throughout most of the season, and therefore he deserves to be in the lineup on a nightly basis over him.

At the forward, the Habs also announced a change that will see Alexandre Texier return to the lineup for the first time this week since missing the last two games with a lower-body injury. Texier will be returning to his spot on the top line next to Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. Kirby Dach will move down in the lineup to play with Jake Evans and Zack Bolduc, which should allow the Habs forward to ease back into his game more effectively as opposed to playing on the team’s top line. As a result, Joe Veleno will be a healthy scratch for tonight’s game.

In nets, the Habs are going back to Samuel Montembeault for the start. Montembeault had a tough start to his last game against the Sabres and will be looking to bounce back with a solid performance for a full 60 minutes to show that he’s not reverting back to his old habits of being shaky to start the 2025-26 campaign. In his last 2 games since the Habs sent back Jacob Fowler, Montembeault has had two rough performances and will need to show that it was just a coincidence tonight when taking on the Bruins, or a goaltender controversy may start up again in Montreal.

His performances against the Bruins have been a mixed bag, as he’s had bad games against them but also had solid performances in his last 5 games when playing the Bruins. He has a .871 save percentage with a 3.31 GAA and a 2-2-1 record in that span. It will be interesting to see if Montembeault bounces back from 2 bad games in a very important matchup for the Habs.

The Bruins have named Jeremy Swayman the starter in goal against the Habs tonight. Swayman is coming off a bad performance of his own during his last start, where he allowed 6 goals in a 6-2 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday. Like Montembeault, he too will be looking to bounce back. In his last meeting against the Canadiens, he had a tough night in a 6-2 loss. With that being said, the Habs have clearly identified his weak spots in his game, which can help them in tonight’s matchup.

Given that both goaltenders are coming off tough performances, the over 6.5 goals seems like a solid bet, considering the trends. Notably, 6 of the last 10 meetings have seen 7 or more total goals scored. The oddsmakers have made tonight’s game a pick’em with both teams listed at -110 odds, which, considering each team has won a matchup this season and both are incredibly close in the standings, tracks out. It will be a hard-fought game that should be a close one, as both teams are fighting for position in the Atlantic Division.

After scoring a goal and an assist in Thursday’s 4-2 loss, captain Nick Suzuki has scored 2 points in 3 of his last 4 matchups. He will be looking to keep this production going against one of the Habs’ biggest rivals tonight. The line for Suzuki to record 2+ points against the Bruins is set at +185. Do you see Suzuki continuing his multi-point performances again tonight?

What are your predictions for the 3rd meeting of the season between the Canadiens and the Bruins?