Boston Bruins HC Joe Sacco states the importance of Canadiens matchup amidst dwindling playoff chances

The Boston Bruins will face the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday in their only visit to Montreal this season. The Bruins have struggled all season. They are last in the Atlantic Division with a 30-36-9 record. The team went 1-8-1 in its last 10 games.

Bruins interim head coach Joe Sacco spoke about the unusual schedule and the importance of the matchup after team practice.

"Very odd." Sacco said. "Yeah, I mean, that's a team I think we should be against. I can't control—we don't control the schedule—but that's a team you should ... I feel like we should be playing four times during the season, right? Two at home and two on the road. And this year, we're only there one (games played together).

So yeah, does feel odd. But, um, you know, for us, it's a good opportunity to try to make their chances of obviously progressing into the playoffs a little bit harder tomorrow night. Play spoiler against them tomorrow night. Yeah, always."

David Pastrnak leads the Boston Bruins with 37 goals and 88 points. Morgan Geekie has also been a key player with 27 goals. However, the team has lacked consistency on offense and defense.

The Canadiens are 35-30-9 and hold the final wild-card spot. They have gone 4-3-3 in their last 10 games. Nick Suzuki and Lane Hutson have been strong performers for Montreal. Their power play is better than Boston’s at 21.2%.

The Bruins have won both previous matchups this season, scoring six goals each game.

Boston Bruins coach Joe Sacco talked about 4–3 loss to Caps

The Boston Bruins lost 4–3 to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, extending their losing streak to nine games. Coach Joe Sacco said the team is committed to securing wins.

“Guys are trying to get a win,” Sacco said, via NHL.com. “You want to just make sure that you keep battling, you keep playing through it, and I thought we did tonight ... We’re going to play hard right to the very end.”

Nic Dowd opened the scoring at 13:32 of the first period, roofing a shot over Jeremy Swayman, and Alex Ovechkin made it 2–0.

Vinni Lettieri cut the deficit for Boston Bruins to 2–1 at 6:05 of the second period after a misplay by Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren. David Pastrnak tied it 2–2 at 17:12, redirecting a pass from Morgan Geekie.

Strome gave Washington a 3–2 lead at 10:37 of the third, tapping in a rebound. Tom Wilson extended it to 4–2 at 14:46. Pastrnak responded 27 seconds later, but Boston fell short.