The Boston Bruins will celebrate their 100th anniversary as the NHL’s oldest U.S. franchise by hosting their Centennial Game on Sunday afternoon against the archrival Montreal Canadiens.
Following planned pre-game ceremonies featuring decades of alumni and other special events, Boston will seek its fourth win in six games under interim head coach Joe Sacco. The Bruins are playing a century to the day after their first-ever game, a 2-1 win over the Montreal Maroons at Boston Arena, which is now Matthews Arena on Northeastern University’s campus.
Goaltender Jeremy Swayman and his Bruins teammates know the importance of putting on a good show for the franchise’s greats of the past, including Patrice Bergeron, Ray Bourque, Johnny Bucyk and Willie O’Ree.
“It’s an honor to put this jersey on every single game, and to have those guys in the building — we’ve got to do it right. They made this logo what it is before us,” Swayman said. “It’s going to be really amazing to be a part of (this special game). I know a lot of guys are excited about it. We’re going to honor them the right way.”
The game will serve as a bounce-back opportunity for the Bruins following a 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. Charlie Coyle’s goal 1:24 in was all Boston could muster two days after a six-goal outburst on 21 shots against the New York Islanders.
Boston’s scoring troubles particularly have been magnified at TD Garden, where the team has not scored more than two goals in six consecutive home games. The Bruins have gone since the Oct. 10 home opener against the Canadiens — a 6-4 win — without scoring a third-period goal.
“I would like to think (there is no common theme during the stretch),” Sacco said. “Right now, it’s just a situation where the puck’s not finding its way in the net. We had our chances (on Friday) again, but you have to execute at a higher level, finish off your plays.”
The Bruins will look to break through against a Montreal club that has lost three of its past four games, including 4-3 to the New York Rangers on Saturday.
A last-minute, power-play goal decided the result. A double-minor penalty for high-sticking on Kirby Dach that led to the deciding tally left Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis frustrated while he delivered his short post-game comments.
“I loved our game, but I’m not going to talk about the refs,” St. Louis said.
Cole Caufield scored the Canadiens’ first of two goals in the final frame and added an assist, extending his point streak to three games. Nine of his 14 goals this season have come on the road.
Former Boston College defenseman Mike Matheson, who missed the previous two games with a lower-body injury, and captain Nick Suzuki also scored for Montreal.
“I thought we deserved better. I thought we played better than them,” Suzuki said of the Saturday contest. “It’s a tough way to end a game that way, giving up a goal that late. Special teams (were) the big difference. We’ve done well in those situations so far this season. We’ll clean it up (for Sunday).”
Suzuki’s goal tied the score at 3-3 with 5:53 remaining, but New York’s three power-play goals and perfect penalty kill were too much to overcome.
After Sam Montembeault’s 24-save Saturday effort, the Canadiens likely will start Cayden Primeau in goal against the Bruins. He played collegiately at Northeastern.
–Field Level Media