The Boston Bruins head north to take on the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night. This is the second time this season the Bruins take on their hated rivals.
The Bruins dropped the first game three weeks ago against Montreal 5-4. At the time, this was only Boston’s second loss of the season.
What do the Bruins need this time to ensure they leave Montreal with two points?
1. Solid goaltending from Jaroslav Halak
What stood out more than anything in the first game against the Canadiens was the play of goalie Tuukka Rask. To put it plainly, Rask was bad in Montreal.
He surrendered five goals on 31 shots in his first poor start of the reason. At least three of those goals were soft.
If Boston wants to win on Tuesday night, Jaroslav Halak needs to outperform Rask.
Expect Halak to do just that against the Canadiens. While Rask has a losing record against Montreal, Halak has five wins in 10 games.
Not only that, but Halak, since he played in Montreal for four seasons, has extensive experience in that building. He shouldn’t be shaky in front of that crowd at all.
One more thing: Rask’s performance in Montreal was more of an aberration than anything else. The Bruins shouldn’t expect to give up five goals once again to a team that isn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut.