Bruins (46-26-11) vs. Canadiens (45-30-8)
Canadiens lead series 1-0
Starting Goalies
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Bruins: Tim Thomas is the odds-on favorite to win the Vezina Trophy after a season during which he posted a league-low 2.00 goals against average and a .938 save percentagehighest in NHL history. Thomas, however, allowed two goals on 20 shots in Game 1.
Canadiens: This season, Carey Price was named an All-Star for the second time in his career, and he played like one in the series opener. Price stoned all 31 of the Bruins shots to post his ninth shutout of the year, tying him with Thomas for the second-most clean sheets in the NHL.
Previous games
Entering the playoffs, the Bruins had won seven of their last 11 games. They outscored their opponents 33-18 over that span.
Montreal, however, went 4-5-0 in their final nine games, enduring a three-game goalless stretch at the end of March.
Head-to-head
The Canadiens took four of the six regular-season contests between these two teams, but Boston outscored the Habs in the season series 22-20 thanks to a 7-0 win in the final matchup before the postseason.
Milan Lujic posted nine points against Montreal this seasonfour goals and five assistswhile David Krejci added seven assists.
Brian Gionta scored five goals against the Bruins this year, including the only two markers of Game 1.
Whos hot?
Dennis Seidenberg posted at least one point in each of the final three games of the regular season for the Bruins.
Including his sparkling performance in the series opener, Price has allowed just six goals in five games in April. Offensively, Gionta has five goals in his last three contests.
Storylines
There is no love lost between these two squads. Both members of the Original Six, the rivalry was amped up at the beginning of March when Zdeno Chara laid his controversial hit on Max Pacioretty. The clubs also had a riotous game in February as Boston won an 8-6 brawl.