Jonas Gustavsson patrols the net against the Rangers. Photo credit: Anthony Gruppuso, USA TODAY Sports
The Montreal Canadiens are currently the best team in the league, three points ahead of their nearest competitor. They started the season with a ten-game winning streak and currently boast an impressive 12-2-1 record and an equally impressive .833 points percentage. Though last year's Vezina winner Carey Price is injured, his rookie backup (Mike Condon) is doing just as well, with a
5-0-1 record and a .941 save percentage (albeit while facing an extremely low 22 shots per game). Add in the fact that the Bruins haven't beaten the Habs since Game 6 of the 2014 playoffs and you'll see the Habs pose a formidable threat.
The Bruins have lost two games in a row by a combined score of 9-3. They've become the masters of combining a high-flying offense (with the highest goals per game in the league and the highest power play conversion) with the defensive equivalent of Swiss cheese (with the highest goals against per game and lowest penalty kill rate). With an .879 save percentage this season and a .906 save percentage against the Habs, Rask doesn't seem like a good choice against the Habs (not that Gustavsson would be much better). With the team on the playoff bubble, I have a feeling the Bruins would really like to win this game.
LINE COMBOS (Montreal)
Max Pacioretty-Tomas Plekanec-Brendan Gallagher
Lars Eller-Alex Galchenyuk-Paul Byron
Tomas Fleischmann-David Desharnais-Dale Weise
Brian Flynn-Torrey Mitchell-Devante Smith-Pelly
Andrei Markov-P.K. Subban
Alexei Emelin-Jeff Petry
Nathan Beaulieu-Tom Gilbert
Mike Condon
Dustin Tokarski
Scratches: Zack Kassian, Alexander Semin, Jarred Tinordi
LINE COMBOS (Boston)
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Brett Connolly
Loui Eriksson-David Krejci-Frank Vatrano
Matt Beleskey-Ryan Spooner-Jimmy Hayes
Max Talbot-Joonas Kemppainen-Tyler Randell
Zdeno Chara-Colin Miller
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
Joe Morrow-Kevan Miller
Jonas Gustavsson
Tuukka Rask
Scratches: David Pastrnak, Zac Rinaldo, Zach Trotman
FLYING HIGH
Mike Condon
As I said before, Condon has a 5-0-1 record and a .941 save percentage to go with a 1.50 GAA. The Princeton graduate very nearly was out of hockey after graduation, even taking an internship on Wall Street. After playing nine games split between the ECHL and AHL, Condon signed a contract with the Montreal Canadiens and worked his way up from the ECHL to the AHL and was promoted to the NHL full-time this season. His .941 save percentage in 3rd in the league, while his 1.50 GAA leads the league.
Jimmy Hayes
Hayes now has 11 points in 12 games and six points in his past five games. Traded for Reilly Smith and Marc Savard, Hayes has made a good impression offensively after an abysmal three games to start the season. Hayes spent the first part of his career in the Blackhawks organization after being drafted by Toronto and played ten games for the Cup-winning 2012-13 Blackhawks. Traded midseason to the Panthers, Hayes broke through to the NHL and became an NHL regular. After another season with the Panthers, Smith ended up in Boston. Hayes is tied for second on the Bruins in points and tied for third on the team in points.
COMING DOWN TO EARTH
Alexander Semin
After his production plummeted from 84 points in 73 games in 2009-10 to 19 points in 57 games in a decline arguably rivalling that of Dany Heatley or Vincent Lecavalier. After being traded to Carolina as his production was just starting to decline, he had a point-per-game season for the 'Canes in 2012-13 before crashing down to earth. His pricey 5-year, $35 million dollar contract was bought out, the Canadiens signed him to a modest one-year $1.1 million dollar to see if he could still pan out. Well, with a goal and two assists in 10 games, Semin hasn't been bad, but on a team where eight out of 19 skaters have reached 11 points, his numbers look pedestrian at best.
David Pastrnak
After a very strong rookie campaign, Pastrnak has struggled so far in the young season. Two goals and two assists are fine, but not what we expected. Pastrnak has been scratched for the past two games in favor of Max Talbot, Alex Khokhlachev, and now Frank Vatrano. Every player has slumps, and this is par for the course, especially for a young player like Pastrnak. Still, it's not exactly a good thing he's being scratched.
5-0-1 record and a .941 save percentage (albeit while facing an extremely low 22 shots per game). Add in the fact that the Bruins haven't beaten the Habs since Game 6 of the 2014 playoffs and you'll see the Habs pose a formidable threat.
The Bruins have lost two games in a row by a combined score of 9-3. They've become the masters of combining a high-flying offense (with the highest goals per game in the league and the highest power play conversion) with the defensive equivalent of Swiss cheese (with the highest goals against per game and lowest penalty kill rate). With an .879 save percentage this season and a .906 save percentage against the Habs, Rask doesn't seem like a good choice against the Habs (not that Gustavsson would be much better). With the team on the playoff bubble, I have a feeling the Bruins would really like to win this game.
LINE COMBOS (Montreal)
Max Pacioretty-Tomas Plekanec-Brendan Gallagher
Lars Eller-Alex Galchenyuk-Paul Byron
Tomas Fleischmann-David Desharnais-Dale Weise
Brian Flynn-Torrey Mitchell-Devante Smith-Pelly
Andrei Markov-P.K. Subban
Alexei Emelin-Jeff Petry
Nathan Beaulieu-Tom Gilbert
Mike Condon
Dustin Tokarski
Scratches: Zack Kassian, Alexander Semin, Jarred Tinordi
LINE COMBOS (Boston)
Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Brett Connolly
Loui Eriksson-David Krejci-Frank Vatrano
Matt Beleskey-Ryan Spooner-Jimmy Hayes
Max Talbot-Joonas Kemppainen-Tyler Randell
Zdeno Chara-Colin Miller
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
Joe Morrow-Kevan Miller
Jonas Gustavsson
Tuukka Rask
Scratches: David Pastrnak, Zac Rinaldo, Zach Trotman
FLYING HIGH
Mike Condon
As I said before, Condon has a 5-0-1 record and a .941 save percentage to go with a 1.50 GAA. The Princeton graduate very nearly was out of hockey after graduation, even taking an internship on Wall Street. After playing nine games split between the ECHL and AHL, Condon signed a contract with the Montreal Canadiens and worked his way up from the ECHL to the AHL and was promoted to the NHL full-time this season. His .941 save percentage in 3rd in the league, while his 1.50 GAA leads the league.
Jimmy Hayes
Hayes now has 11 points in 12 games and six points in his past five games. Traded for Reilly Smith and Marc Savard, Hayes has made a good impression offensively after an abysmal three games to start the season. Hayes spent the first part of his career in the Blackhawks organization after being drafted by Toronto and played ten games for the Cup-winning 2012-13 Blackhawks. Traded midseason to the Panthers, Hayes broke through to the NHL and became an NHL regular. After another season with the Panthers, Smith ended up in Boston. Hayes is tied for second on the Bruins in points and tied for third on the team in points.
COMING DOWN TO EARTH
Alexander Semin
After his production plummeted from 84 points in 73 games in 2009-10 to 19 points in 57 games in a decline arguably rivalling that of Dany Heatley or Vincent Lecavalier. After being traded to Carolina as his production was just starting to decline, he had a point-per-game season for the 'Canes in 2012-13 before crashing down to earth. His pricey 5-year, $35 million dollar contract was bought out, the Canadiens signed him to a modest one-year $1.1 million dollar to see if he could still pan out. Well, with a goal and two assists in 10 games, Semin hasn't been bad, but on a team where eight out of 19 skaters have reached 11 points, his numbers look pedestrian at best.
David Pastrnak
After a very strong rookie campaign, Pastrnak has struggled so far in the young season. Two goals and two assists are fine, but not what we expected. Pastrnak has been scratched for the past two games in favor of Max Talbot, Alex Khokhlachev, and now Frank Vatrano. Every player has slumps, and this is par for the course, especially for a young player like Pastrnak. Still, it's not exactly a good thing he's being scratched.