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Ice Breakers: Bruins-Canadiens, Thursday 11-5

The Bruins face off with their third straight “Original 6″ foe this evening, as they host division rival Montreal (7-8-0) at the TD Garden.

Boston (6-7-1) will look to avoid their third straight shutout after falling 1-0 and 2-0 in their last two contests, to the Rangers and Red Wings respectively. The last time Boston was shut out twice in a row before this was back in March of 2007, and to find the last shutout streak of three games, you’d have to go back 80 years to 1929. It was then that the Bruins went scoreless in defeat to a trio that included the Toronto Maple Leafs, the New York Americans, and the Montreal Maroons.

Both teams have struggled out of the gate, failing to find the consistency that delivered playoff appearances for both squads last spring. Of course we all remember these two battling in the first round of last season’s playoffs, where Boston dominated play from beginning to end, sweeping the Habs in 4 straight games.

Here now, we take a closer look at tonight’s matchup of two long time rivals…

• Tonight marks the 700th meeting between these two storied franchises, dating all the way back to 1924.
• The Bruins remain very shorthanded on their top forward lines, with Marc Savard and Milan Lucic sidelined with injuries. Earlier today, center David Krejci was added to the ranks of the walking wounded, as it was confirmed that Krejci has contracted the widespread H1N1 virus, a.k.a. “swine flu.” Krejci will be out indefinitely until he can rejoin the team symptom-free.
• Injuries have piled up for Montreal as well. Defensemen Andrei Markov (ankle) and familiar face Hal Gill (foot) will both be out long term, while bruiser Georges Laraque is considered day-to-day as he struggles through back issues.
• Up front for Montreal, the Habs have been led by veteran Tomas Plekanec (4G, 10A) and newcomer Mike Cammalleri (7G, 7A), along with a pair of former Devils, Scott Gomez (2G, 8A) and ex-BC Eagle Brian Gionta (6G, 4A).
• In net, the Habs feature two highly touted young goalies that have had contrasting starts to the season thus far. Carey Price (2-6-0, 3.64GAA) has struggled mightily in his starts, while Jaroslav Halak (5-2-0, 2.85GAA) has shown more promise.
• Montreal will be looking to end their current five-game road losing streak. They are coming off a 5-4 loss at home Tuesday against Atlanta.
• The Habs feature a trio of former Bruins, including the injured, Concord-born Hal Gill, defenseman Paul Mara, and center Glen Metropolit.

Tags: Andrei Markov, Boston Bruins, Brian Gionta, Carey Price, David Krejci, Georges Laraque, Glen Metropolit, Hal Gill, Jaroslav Halak, Mike Cammalleri, Montreal Canadiens, Paul Mara, Scott Gomez, Tomas Plekanec