Game 19: Canadiens vs. Bruins: Fowler Returns To Beantown

If Jakub Dobes didn’t get the start in a city that meant a lot to him when the Montreal Canadiens played in St. Louis earlier this year, Jacob Fowler gets the start Thursday night as the Habs take on the Boston Bruins. The soon-to-be 22-year-old netminder played his NCAA hockey with the Boston College Eagles, and this will surely feel like a homecoming of sorts.

The Sainte-Flanelle took off for Boston on Wednesday afternoon after practicing at the CN Sports Complex, and Martin St-Louis put his cards on the table when he told reporters Fowler would be between the pipes. As for Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans, who missed practice for treatments, the coach said they would travel with the team, like Mike Matheson. Samuel Montembeault, who was also at practice, will not be going to Boston, however.

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Fowler has faced the Bruins once and backstopped the Canadiens to a 6-2 win on December 23 last season, helping everyone have a nice Christmas. He finished the game with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage. As for Dobes, he’s faced Boston once and won an overtime decision, 3-2, finishing with a 1.86 GAA and a .929 SV.

At the other end of the ice, the Bruins are using Jeremy Swayman and Michael Di Pietro this season, with the former being the number one goaltender. Since the Bruins weren’t in action Wednesday night, expect to see him between the pipes on Thursday night. He has an 11-2-2 record against Montreal with a 2.92 GAA and a .894 SV. Meanwhile, Di Pietro has never faced Montreal.

Up front, captain Nick Suzuki has 20 points in 22 games against the divisional rivals, followed by Chris Kreider with 19 in 40 games, and Josh Anderson has 14 points in 24 games. Cole Caufield is just on the doorstep with 13 points in 14 games, which includes 11 goals. The sniper is also on a six-game point streak, picking up eight assists in that time span, while Caufield is on a four-game point streak with three goals and two assists.

On the other side, David Pastrnak leads the way with 47 points in 36 games, followed by Elias Lindholm with 25 points in 38 games and Charlie McAvoy with 20 points in 27 games. James Hagens, who had a strong start to his rookie season with 12 points in 17 games, is currently on IR and will miss the first of four duels between the two teams this year. Pstrnak, Lindholm, and Morgan Geekie are all on a 4-game point streak.

The game starts at 7:00 PM, but you can expect a pregame ceremony honoring the Bruins’ latest Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, L’Ancienne-Lorette native Patrice Bergeron. You can catch the game in English on TS2 and in French on RDS. The Canadiens have won only three of their last 10 games against the Bruins, but that includes the last one, so they may pick up some momentum. Cody Beach and Frederick L'Ecuyer will be the referees, while Brandon Grillo and Matt MacPherson will be the linesmen. 

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