Montreal Canadiens rookies Logan Mailloux and Jayden Struble comprised a formidable defensive pairing as the Habs beat the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon.

The Canadiens rookies were back at the LECOM Harborcenter in Buffalo on Saturday afternoon for their second game of the 2023 Prospects Challenge.

Habs Control Bruins

"We played better defensively and we paid more attention to details," said Canadiens rookie team coach J.F. Houle. While the Bruins prospects lacked the skill and speed of the Sabres, the Habs delivered a much better effort controlling the B's almost start to finish.

After opening the tournament with a loss against the Sabres on Friday night, the Canadiens enjoyed a 4-1 victory over the Boston Bruins. Cedrick Guindon, Jan Mysak, Joshua Roy, and Ty Smilanic were the goal scorers for Montreal.

Quentin Miller got the start in goal for the Canadiens making 26 saves. Miller was selected in the fourth round (128th overall) by Montreal in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft in June.

After Friday's game, Houle was less than complimentary when asked about the development of Mysak, saying "He’s coming along slowly. Sometimes he wants to play a little bit more, in Laval he wanted to have a little bit more ice time and stuff like that, but he’s got to find the right chair for himself. I think he can be a good grinder, I don’t see him getting a lot of points in the American Hockey League, but I think he can be a solid two-way player."

Mysak responded emphatically on the ice on Saturday afternoon with a two-point game on a goal and an assist. Mysak was also one of the few Canadiens players who had a solid game on Friday night. The 21-year-old has sported an "A" on his jersey for the first two games of the tournament.

Jayden Struble could not travel to Buffalo on the bus with his teammates, instead arriving on Friday night. Despite missing the first match and practice, Struble was thrust into Saturday's game on the top-pairing with Logan Mailloux. Houle was a fan of Struble's game saying, "I really liked Struble’s game. He was very physical tonight,  perhaps the one who had the most hits tonight. I liked that."

For his part, Mailloux bounced back from a nervous performance on Friday night when he was on the ice for three goals against. Mailloux was calm and poised, playing a much more effective game paired with Struble.

After a very quiet game on Friday, Roy was much more visible playing with Mysak and Jared Davidson. Roy had a goal and an assist. Riley Kidney and Filip Mesar were also far more effective than in the game against the Sabres.

Canadiens players of the game: Jan Mysak, Jayden Struble, Joshua Roy

Forward Lines / Defence Pairs / Goalies

On Saturday, the Canadiens rookies played game two of the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo. 

Xavier Simoneau was named the captain for this game with Jan Mysak and Emil Heineman serving as alternates.

These were the forward lines, defence pairings and goaltenders for the Canadiens 4-1 win on Friday against the Bruins:

Xavier Simoneau (C) - Filip Mesar - Emil Heineman (A)
Jared Davidson - Jan Mysak (A) - Joshua Roy
Ty Smilanic - Riley Kidney - Jakov Novak
Isaac Dufort - Cedrick Guindon - Riley McKay

Jayden Struble - Logan Mailloux
Chris Ortiz - Miguel Tourigny
Stanislav Demin - Noah Laaouan

Quentin Miller - Jan Spunar

Scratches for the Canadiens for this game were: Owen Beck, Sean Farrell, Florian Xhekaj, Jakub Dobes, William Trudeau, David Reinbacher, and John Parker-Jones.

Post-game Comments

NEXT GAME: MTL vs OTT (Rookie Tournament)

The Montreal Canadiens rookies will play the third and final game of their tournament on Monday afternoon as they take on the Ottawa Senators. The Canadiens are one of six teams (BUF, BOS, MTL, NJD, OTT, PIT) participating in the Prospects Challenge hosted by the Sabres at the Harborcenter Rink in Buffalo.

Puck drop is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET. on Monday September 18th at the LECOM Harborcenter.

All games are livestreamed on the Canadiens website and digital media platforms.