Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins, Gillette Stadium, 1 p.m. ET, NBC
One of the NHL’s oldest and fiercest rivalries will take it outside in Foxborough, Massachusetts for the eighth installment of the Winter Classic. The Boston Bruins welcome the Montreal Canadiens to the home usually occupied by Tom Brady and the NFL’s New England Patriots for what is sure to be another historic chapter in the storied rivalry.
This is the second time in Winter Classic history that Boston will host, as Fenway Park was the site of the third outdoor game. The Bruins earned a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory in that one against the Philadelphia Flyers. Only five players from that team will be available to play in this year’s event for the Bruins, so for many this will be a first experience.
Around 70,000 spectators are expected to be on hand, which would make for the third largest attendance in Winter Classic history. Though many will be from the Boston area, don’t expect the exuberant Canadiens fans to go unheard.
This will be Montreal’s third outdoor game in team history, but first Winter Classic. The Habs played in the first two NHL Heritage Classics in 2003 and 2011.
While the spectacle of the NHL’s marquee regular-season event will consume this game, it remains an extremely important matchup for both clubs. Few Winter Classics in the past have meant as much to the standings as this one will, with both teams engaged in the extremely tight race in the Atlantic Division.
The Matchup
The Bruins and Canadiens can take in the sights and the enormity of the game they’re playing in early, but when the puck drops and the game goes live, the focus has to be on the big two points on the line.
Montreal, after a backslide in December that took them from a 10-point lead on the rest of the Atlantic Division to one point out of first, is looking to start 2016 on the right foot. They closed out 2015 by losing to the Florida Panthers, who leap-frogged the Habs for first. Meanwhile, lurking just one point behind them is the Bruins.
Boston will have a chance to vault themselves into first place with a win under the open sky. That’s a little extra motivation on top of the emotions that come with a rivalry game such as this.
The two squads have had plenty of time to renew their animosity towards each other with three games between them already this season. Montreal has won two of the three, with Boston taking the last meeting between the two clubs. But at the Winter Classic, even recent history tends not to matter.
The elements can even the playing field some, but the Bruins will be at a somewhat big disadvantage with two of their top offensive players out of the lineup.
David Krejci, who is tied for second on the team with 33 points, will miss the game due to an injury that could keep him sidelined for weeks at a time. Brad Marchand, the team’s leading goal scorer with 15, will also miss the game. He is set to begin serving a three-game suspension for clipping Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki Tuesday night. The timing couldn’t have been worse on that poor decision. As a result, the Bruins’ offensive attack that has been one of its strengths this year has been severely weakened.
The Habs have their own big injury to contend with. Starting goalie Carey Price remains out, but that does open the door for a local-boy-makes-good story in Mike Condon. The Habs backup goalie is in his first NHL season and grew up 30 minutes away from Gillette Stadium. His father, a local police officer, worked security at Patriots games. It’s going to be a great event for Condon and his family, but would be even be better for him and his team with a win.
Montreal is also getting a huge boost in the form of Brendan Gallagher’s return from badly broken fingers. He is ahead of schedule in his recovery and was declared available for the Winter Classic. He will wear a modified glove to protect his hand as it’s not quite 100 percent. Gallagher missed the last 17 games and his absence probably played a big role in the Habs’ recent slide. The undersized sparkplug has 19 points in 22 games so far this season.
Getting their top-line right winger back is going to provide not only an on-ice boost, but it could provide a little bit of a psychological boost as well. Linemates Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec haven’t been the same in his absence. Gallagher also gives head coach Michel Therrien more lineup flexibility now, not to mention how his style of play feeds into the already high emotions of this game.
Adding in the rivalry element to this game and the conditions that come along with playing outdoors, the playing field will be pretty level. It could simply come down to bounces in the end.
The Conditions
Weather and ice conditions go hand in hand in these outdoor events and they always play a role in the big storylines of the game. Whether it was driving snow in Buffalo, rain in Pittsburgh or sun glare in Washington, D.C., there always seems to be something.
The current forecast for Foxborough at puck drop, is around 40 degrees and mostly cloudy. The sun is expected to peek out at various points throughout the game as well. Depending on how much time the sun has to shine, they have to worry a little about glare off the ice, which can be particularly challenging for goaltenders. It also can do a number on the quality of the ice surface. But that's true almost every year.
Bruins players noted Thursday after practice that there were some really soft spots in the ice, but most expressed confidence that the issues would be resolved. Dennis Seidenberg told Yahoo Sports that he thought there was one corner that was actually “dangerous.”
Dan Craig, who is the NHL’s ice whisperer surely was on the case and both teams are likely to be able to expect as good of conditions as the weather will allow. It's not going to be like skating on an indoor sheet, obviously, but that's part of the charm.
The Prediction
The home team is 2-3-2 all-time at the Winter Classic. The Bruins were one of the two teams that won before. However, in this instance, we’re looking for the Habs to come away with a big win on the road here.
Getting Gallagher back is no small development for the Canadiens. On top of that, the Bruins are missing two of their most experienced and offensively dangerous forwards in Krejci and Marchand for this game. It’s going to be tough to match up with Montreal as a result.
Look for a big game from the local boy Condon and the Habs to do just enough to sneak past their divisional rivals and retake first place in the Atlantic.
Chris Peters' Pick: Canadiens 3, Bruins 1
Adam Gretz's Pick: Canadiens 3, Bruins 2
