The Canadiens Bruins rivalry delivered a statement night for Montreal on Thursday. The Habs scored the first five goals at TD Garden and cruised to a 5-2 win, snapping Boston’s seven-game winning streak on home ice and stretching their own point streak to 12 games. With the Colorado Avalanche coming to the Bell Centre Saturday and the Alouettes playing for the Grey Cup Sunday, it’s shaping up as one of the biggest sports weekends of the fall in Montreal.
Here’s what happened in Boston, what the numbers say as of Nov. 13, and what to keep an eye on over the next few days. If you missed our rundown of the full week, it’s all in Montreal’s sports week for Nov. 9-15.
Canadiens Bruins recap: five unanswered goals
Montreal came out flying. According to the NHL.com game recap, Kirby Dach opened the scoring on a wraparound just 2:34 into the game, and Josh Anderson made it 2-0 at 8:36 of the first, burying a rebound off the left post after Jake Evans deflected a Mike Matheson shot.
The second period is where the game got away from Boston. Evans scored on a breakaway backhand at 4:24 after a stretch pass from Anderson. Cole Caufield followed with an unassisted breakaway goal at 8:14, which ended Jeremy Swayman’s night after four goals on 17 shots. Michael DiPietro came on in relief, and Phillip Danault greeted him with a one-timer from the top of the right face-off circle at 14:15 to make it 5-0.
Casey Mittelstadt spoiled the shutout with a breakaway goal late in the second and added another 52 seconds into the third, both set up by Elias Lindholm, but the Bruins never got closer. The full scoring summary and shot totals are on the CBS Sports box score.
Jacob Fowler keeps rolling
Rookie goalie Jacob Fowler made 30 saves for the win. Per NHL.com, he is 9-0-2 in 11 starts since losing his season debut on Oct. 8, and this was his fifth straight road win, tying Charlie Hodge’s franchise record for the longest season-opening road winning streak. He’s also only the fifth rookie in NHL history with a run of that length.
“He’s our rock. He makes the game pretty easy for us,” Dach said after the game. Coach Martin St. Louis was a little more measured, noting that despite the 5-0 lead, “the game could easily be 3-2 the other way.” On the Boston side, captain David Pastrnak called the start “unacceptable” and coach Marco Sturm said his team was “just very flat.”
Matheson back, Kreider a question mark
Mike Matheson returned after missing six games with a lower-body injury and was a factor right away, with an assist and a plus-3 rating in 21:11 of ice time. The one worry: Chris Kreider left at 6:27 of the third period after an open-ice collision with Michael Eyssimont and didn’t return. There was no update after the game, so watch for news before Saturday.
The Canadiens point streak, by the numbers
The win pushed Montreal to 12-3-4, good for 28 points as of Nov. 13. Some of the highlights from the NHL.com recap and CTV News Montreal:
- 12-game point streak: Montreal is 9-0-3 in that stretch.
- One regulation loss in 15: the Habs are 11-1-3 over their past 15 games.
- No first-period deficits: Montreal has not trailed after the first period this season.
- Passing Boston: the win moved the Canadiens ahead of the Bruins (13-5-1, 27 points) in the Atlantic Division.
- Two-way nights: Anderson and Evans each finished with a goal and an assist.
The streak has been building for weeks; our Canadiens vs. Wild preview looked at how the team was finding ways to collect points even on off nights.
Saturday: Avalanche at the Bell Centre
The Habs come home to host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at the Bell Centre. It’s a big test. According to the CBS Sports game preview, Colorado is scoring 4.02 goals per game with a 23.9 per cent power play, compared to Montreal’s 3.37 goals per game and 13.8 per cent power play.
Injuries could shape the matchup on both sides. CBS lists Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar as day-to-day with lower-body injuries, which is worth checking before puck drop. For Montreal, Kreider is listed day-to-day, while Sam Montembeault and Ivan Demidov are both listed as out until at least Nov. 14.
Not going to the game? Our guide to the best bars to watch the Canadiens in Montreal has you covered for a Saturday night with the crowd.
Sunday: Alouettes vs. Elks in the 113th Grey Cup
Then it’s the Alouettes’ turn. Montreal faces the Edmonton Elks in the 113th Grey Cup on Sunday, Nov. 15, at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, with kickoff at 6 p.m. ET. The Als got there by beating Winnipeg 33-23 in the East final at Molson Stadium, a game in which Davis Alexander threw for 373 yards and two touchdowns and Tyrice Beverette forced and recovered a late fumble, per TSN.
The storylines write themselves. Montreal finished 14-4 and first in the CFL; Edmonton went 13-5 to top the West and beat B.C. 28-16. Elks quarterback Cody Fajardo led the Als to the 2023 Grey Cup before being traded to Edmonton in 2024, and both Als head coach Jason Maas and GM Danny Maciocia have deep Edmonton roots, as TSN’s look at the matchup’s history lays out. It’s the 12th Grey Cup meeting between the two franchises.
For the full breakdown, read our Alouettes vs. Elks Grey Cup preview.
The bottom line
It’s a good time to be a Montreal sports fan. Watch for Kreider’s status and Colorado’s injury list before Saturday, then the Als in Calgary Sunday night. Allez Montréal. Follow along all weekend on our MTL365 sports page.
More on MTL365
- Things to Do in Montreal This Weekend (Nov. 13–15): Christmas Markets, Expozine and the Grey Cup
- The Best Sushi in Montreal: 10 Spots From Michelin Omakase to Dépanneur Maki
- Microsoft Outage in Montreal: Hospitals, Via Rail and Campuses Feel the Hit (Updated Nov. 13)
- More Montreal sports on MTL365
Photo: Benoît Prieur / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Sources: NHL.com game recap, CTV News Montreal, CBS Sports box score, CBS Sports COL@MON preview, TickPick (game time), TSN East final, TSN Grey Cup history, TSN teams arrive in Calgary, City of Calgary Grey Cup
