Charlie McAvoy put into words what plenty of NHL fans already know: when the Bruins and Canadiens are both rolling, the league feels bigger.
Boston and Montreal are set to meet Thursday night in an early-season game with first place in the Atlantic Division on the line. It’s the kind of matchup that still carries weight, even if the calendar says November. Last season, Montreal pushed past what looked like a long rebuild and reached the Eastern Conference Final before falling to the eventual Stanley Cup champion, the Carolina Hurricanes.
After practice on Wednesday, McAvoy talked about what happens when both teams are strong at the same time.
“We had some of those years where we were really good, and they were kind of rebuilding and trying to figure out what they are now,” said McAvoy, per BostonBruins.com. “The game is better, the rivalry is better, the NHL is better when both of us are great hockey teams, and that’s what we are now.”
That’s the heart of it. The Bruins-Canadiens rivalry has always meant more when both sides are relevant, and Thursday gives the league exactly that: two teams near the top, meeting with something real at stake.
This is the first of four games between the clubs this season. After Thursday, they won’t see each other again until January in Montreal, then they’ll play twice in March, 20 days apart. Four meetings barely feels like enough for a rivalry with this kind of history.
Both teams are bringing strong recent form into the matchup. Montreal is 7-0-3 over its last 10 games, while Boston is 7-2-1.
The numbers behind the special teams, though, are a little less polished. Montreal’s power play is ranked 30th, while Boston’s sits 24th.
On the penalty kill, Montreal is 15th and the Bruins are 17th.
Still, when these two teams get together, the records and rankings take a back seat. Bruins-Canadiens is one of those matchups that just feels different, and Thursday night should deliver exactly that.
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