Streaky Bruins believe things are figured out ahead of Habs game.

The Boston Bruins have lost three games in a row since November, even though they are top of the Eastern Conference standings and ranked second in the NHL. Jim Montgomery, the second-year head coach, thinks that the Bruins, who are riding high after three straight wins, might be about to turn things around once more as they prepare to visit the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night.

Montgomery stated, “We’re trending in the right direction.” “You have high points and low points. Even with the start of the year, I believe the last three games may be the best three straight we’ve had this year. We’ve had success here since Christmas.”

The Bruins’ latest effort was a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday in which star winger David Pastrnak scored his first hat trick of the season and the 16th of his NHL career. Pastrnak opened Boston’s three-goal first period just 44 seconds into the game before tallying twice over the final 2:36 to cap his hat trick.

“We play with the lead a lot in the third period, so teams are gonna get their push and they get their chances,” Pastrnak stated. We weren’t really ready for it early in the season. We overcame situations where teams turned on us. It simply strengthened us more.”

The Bruins are currently enjoying a number of players’ strong runs; they haven’t suffered a regular-season defeat since January 4. Among them, Jake DeBrusk, who scored a goal and an assist against Colorado, has 11 points in his previous 12 games.

“It seems to be getting repetitive here in the second half. It seems like every game is (DeBrusk’s) best game,” Montgomery said. Boston’s lineup is also trending healthier. Goaltender Linus Ullmark is available again, while defensemen Derek Forbort (undisclosed) and Brandon Carlo (upper-body) could also be options for Saturday’s game.

The Canadiens had won back-to-back games before a 6-2 loss at Ottawa on Thursday, which marked their first time allowing more than three goals in seven games.

Cole Caufield scored for a fourth straight game, running his team-leading goal total to 15. Six of Caufield’s goals have been game-winners. “It’s huge,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said. “He’s getting involved physically. He’s not just waiting for the puck to come to him. He’s going to the game.”

Michael Pezzetta also found the net against Ottawa, while Juraj Slafkovsky has lit the lamp in two of the last three outings. St. Louis hopes that the loss in Ottawa will help the young Canadiens — who have 11 players under 25 years old — continue to grow.

“We’re a young group,” St. Louis remarked. “This league is difficult to win in. I believe that is what we should do next. Sometimes I wonder, “Is this the night we’re moving forward?” We’ve become near. Although we haven’t done it yet, we will continue to advocate for it.”

Joshua Roy, a 20-year-old winger, recently joined the Montreal lineup. On Wednesday, in his third professional game (a 3-2 victory at New Jersey), Roy scored his first NHL goal.Since Guillaume Latendresse scored a goal with the Canadiens in 2007–08, Roy is the youngest player from Quebec to do so.

Read more on sportupdates.co.uk