Two Atlantic Division heavyweights will meet on Thursday night at TD Garden when the Boston Bruins host the Montreal Canadiens. Boston leads the Atlantic Division with 27 points, one point clear of the Canadiens.
Montreal is 7-0-3 in their last 10 games, and the Black and Gold are 7-2-1. Something is going to have to give. Boston will be missing their young forward, James Hagens, who is on injured reserve, but on Thursday, Montreal announced that they are getting a key player back in the lineup.
Mike Matheson will be back in the lineup after missing six games. This is big for Montreal, which is getting healthy just in time for the showdown at TD Garden that a lot of people will be watching.
Mike Matheson sera de retour dans la formation contre les Bruins. Adam Engstrom sera laissé de côté.
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) November 12, 2026
Mike Matheson will draw into the lineup tonight against the Bruins. Adam Engstrom will skip his turn. pic.twitter.com/9CL7igrgV9
Frederic Brunet is going up against his favorite team
Twenty-three-year-old defenseman Frederic Brunet will be in the lineup on Thursday night on the third pairing with Mason Lohrei. He grew up a Montreal fan, going to games at the Bell Centre, but now, after being selected by Boston in his hometown, he'll make his first appearance against his childhood favorite team.
“It’s going to be special. It’s the team I grew up watching, and to have the chance to play against them tonight, it’s going to be a pretty special moment,” Brunet said, per BostonBruins.com. “I know it’s a big thing. The boys have been saying a little bit it’s going to look like Florida. It’s a division game, one of our biggest rivals, so you’ve got to be ready, so it’s a big game for us…I’m with the Bruins now, so the only thing I want to do is beat them.”
In 12 games this season, Brunet has one goal and five points, while averaging 16:20 a game. He has been a lot better since he was benched for a couple of games at the end of last month by second-year head coach Marco Sturm.
Bruins running out familiar against Canadiens
After three days off since beating the Florida Panthers on Sunday afternoon, 4-1, at home, Sturm is going to play Jeremy Swayman again between the pipes in what is an unsurprising move. Swayman made 40 saves against the Panthers, including some timely ones in the second and third periods when teh game was in doubt. As far as the lines and defensive pairings go, they will also remain the same. If it's not broken, don't fix it.
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