As we count down the days until the new season, THN will offer you an in-depth look at the Montreal Canadiens’ results against each team last season and take a look at how the Habs can be expected to fare next season.
Today, we’ll take a closer look at the games against the Boston Bruins. The 2024-25 season wasn’t very successful for the Canadiens when it came to facing their once-upon-a-time biggest rivals. There were three games between the two sides, and the Canadiens kept a 1-2-0 record.
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Boston won the first two games of the season, the first on October 10 by a score of 6-4, the second game of the season opening back-to-back and a first night in net for Cayden Primeau. The youngish goaltender had a tough night, getting a penalty less than 30 seconds into the game and surrendering six goals on just 23 shots.
Boston’s second win came on December 1st, Primeau was once again in the net and gave up five goals on 24 shots. It would turn out to be the last game he would ever start for the Canadiens. He saw some action on December 12th in relief for Samuel Montembeault, but this game was his last as the goaltender on record. To be fair, the loss wasn't solely on him; the young Habs couldn’t stop the bleeding early on, giving up three goals in just 70 seconds, and they were done for in the first frame.
The end of November was busy for the Canadiens, including a couple of back-to-back games, which forced Martin St-Louis to use Primeau more than he had, and it was the turning point, the moment the coach lost faith in the netminder.
The Canadiens’ win came on April 3rd, and it was a one-sided affair. It came after the Canadiens had turned a huge corner and found themselves in the running for a playoff spot. Montreal was full of confidence while Boston was reeling and had traded its captain, Brad Marchand.
Boston’s most productive player against Montreal last season wasn’t a big name; it was Cole Koepke, who picked up five points (nearly a third of his yearly production, which was 17 points). That won’t happen again this season. He was a UFA at the end of the year and elected to sign a one-year deal with the Winnipeg Jets.
Three players were tied in second place with Mark Kastelic, David Pastrnak, and Elias Lindholm all registering four points. All three remain with the Bruins and will be looking to pad their record against the Canadiens next season.
The divisional rivals didn’t make massive changes this offseason; they did acquire Viktor Arvidsson from the Edmonton Oilers in return for a fifth-round pick, but the 32-year-old forward won’t move the needle much. Their biggest free agent signing was Tanner Jeannot, who they gave a five-year contract worth $17 million. The 28-year-old is a good depth forward, but he never scored more than 41 points, and that was a one-off; he hasn’t gotten past the 20-point mark in the last three seasons. He brings some physicality to the table; however, at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, he has 403 PIM in 294 career games.
They also signed Sean Kuraly, Jordan Harris, and Alex Steeves to one-way contracts, but that won’t move the needle much for the Massachusetts outfit. On paper at least, the Canadiens are in great shape to get a winning record against Boston, but gone are the days of those games being the most exciting of the regular season calendar. Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara are long gone, but Brad Marchand’s departure was the final nail in what was once a great rivalry.
Pastrnak is still there, but he was never part of the rough stuff. Although he was quoted in a Sports.sk interview as saying Juraj Slafkovsky should be humbler, perhaps he is starting to get a little rivalry going himself with that. Time will tell.
Photo credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
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