With a lineup mostly dictated by the injuries the team has been amassing in recent games, the Montreal Canadiens’ road trip moved on for an afternoon game against the Boston Bruins. Victor Mete’s absence meant Jordie Benn was back in the lineup, and taking the rookie’s place alongside Jeff Petry on the top pairing. Max Pacioretty having to fly back to Montreal with a lower-body injury allowed for Nikita Scherbak to move up beside Phillip Danault, which had cascade effects lower down the order.
The Bruins were forced to manage their own injury after less than one minute of play when Charlie McAvoy went down after a trip from Brendan Gallagher in a battle for the puck.