MTL@BOS: What you need to know.

Boston: On Saturday night at TD Garden, the Canadiens and Bruins will conclude their three-game road trip and reignite their historic rivalry. What you should know before starting the game is as follows:

1. In the nation’s capital on Thursday, Martin St. Louis’ team lost to the Ottawa Senators 6-2, letting one get away. At Canadian Tire Centre, the Sens had other ideas than the Canadiens, who were hoping to build on their victory over the Devils on the road on Wednesday.

Montreal conceded twice in the opening frame to allow Ottawa the momentum, but Cole Caufield responded (his fourth in four games) to cut the home team’s lead in half heading into the intermission. That was as close as the visitors would get, however, as the Sens pulled away in the second and third periods with four unanswered goals en route to the victory. Michael Pezzetta found the back of the net with less than five minutes remaining for the blue-blanc-rouge, but the result remained in favor of the Senators. Cayden Primeau made 31 saves in the loss.

2. The Bruins are in pursuit of a four-game winning streak when they take to the ice at TD Garden on Saturday night. Boston made it three in a row on Thursday, thanks to David Pastrnak’s hat-trick that lifted the B’s 5-2 over the Colorado Avalanche. The Czech forward paces the Boston offense with 64 points, followed by Brad Marchand (41) and Charlie Coyle (34) who round out the top three. Jeremy Swayman, who, along with Pastrnak, will be teamed up with Nick Suzuki at the upcoming 2024 All-Star Game, has started each of the Bruins’ last four games and owns a 14-3-7 record on the season. Jim Montgomery’s contingent ranks atop the Eastern Conference with 63 points at 27-8-9, just one point behind the Vancouver Canucks for the League lead.

3. The Habs and Bruins, a rivalry that dates back to 1924, will meet for the 760^th time in the regular season on Saturday. Montreal leads the all-time series 364-281-103-11 (W-L-T-OTL), but the 2023-24 edition of the series is tied at one apiece, with each team having defended home ice in November. The Habs earned a 3-2 overtime at the Bell Centre on Nov. 11, before the Bruins redeemed themselves one week later with a 5-2 triumph at The Garden. Tonight’s matchup is the third of four this season. The long-time rivals will face off once more north of the border on March 14.

4.At 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, the blue-blanc-rouge will take to the ice in preparation for the game. It is possible to learn about any lineup modifications versus the Bruins during the St. Louis pregame press conference. Fans may follow the Canadiens on Facebook, X, and YouTube.

5. The game is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. Fans of the Habs can tune in on TSN 690 or 98.5 fm to hear the action live, or they can see the action on CBC, Citytv, and TVA Sports.

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