Canadiens Game 46: Anderson Replaces Ylonen Versus Bruins

The Montreal Canadiens (19-19-7) are in Massachusetts to face their longtime rivals the Boston Bruins (27-8-9) at TD Garden. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm ET.

Martin St-Louis’ team is coming off a very difficult showing against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night. Not only did they get outplayed by a significant margin, but very few players decided to provide an honest effort, a sin for any team, regardless of their place in the standings.

The disappointing result came on the heels of two excellent games against teams with much more talented lineups: the Colorado Avalanche and the New Jersey Devils.

With that in mind, given they tend to play down or up to their opponents, we can expect a reasonable effort from the Habs as they face the Bruins, who happen to be in first place in the Atlantic Division, as well as second overall in the NHL, just one point behind the league-leading Vancouver Canucks.

To do so, they’ll have to count on their goaltending, which has carried the weight through the first half of the 2023-24 schedule. Samuel Montembeault is currently among the top 5 NHL goaltenders in goals saved above expected at 5v5, signalling that his three-year, $3.15 million annual average value contract extension could provide great value in the next few seasons. Montembeault is expected to start versus Boston.

Josh Anderson was spotted at practice on Saturday morning. The power forward missed the last two games with a mysterious injury. Anderson practiced on the fourth line, which means we should probably expect Jesse Ylonen to be a healthy scratch.

Looks like Josh Anderson will play tonight. Jesse Ylonen is the odd man out. @CanadiensMTL

— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) January 20, 2024

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As for the Bruins, they’ve won six of their last 10 games, putting to rest many of the concerns regarding the loss of talent in their lineup. Patrice Bergeron may not be playing for Boston anymore, but they still represent a legitimate threat to win the Stanley Cup.

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The two teams have already met twice this season, with the Canadiens winning the first matchup 3-2 in overtime. The Bruins took their revenge in the second game, a 5-2 Bruins win less than a week after the overtime loss.

Unsurprisingly, star forward David Pastrnak leads the offensive charge for the Bruins with an impressive 29 goals and 45 assists in just 44 games. But he’s far from the only Bruins forward who makes an impact every night. Veteran Brad Marchand continues to provide a sustained source of offence, as evidenced by his 19 goals and 22 assists this season.

Defenceman Charlie MacAvoy missed over a dozen games but has still managed to contribute six goals and 23 assists to the Bruins’ cause.

For the view from the other side of the rink don’t forget to visit our sister site, Boston Hockey Now.

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

• Carey Price (IR)
• Chris Wideman (IR)
• Kirby Dach (out indefinitely, ACL/MCL)
• Alex Newhook (out 10-12 weeks)
• Tanner Pearson (IR)
• Christian Dvorak (out)

Boston Bruins Injuries

• Matthew Poitras (day-to-day)
• Derek Forbot (IR)
• Brandon Carlo (IR)

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Boston Bruins Projected Lineup

Marchand – Coyle – Pastrnak

Van Riemsdyk – Zacha – Debrusk

Lauko – Geekie – Frederic

Heinen – Boqvist – Steen

Defence

Grezelcyk – MacAvoy

Lindholm – Wotherspoon

Lohrei – Shattenkirk

Goalie

Swayman

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