Habs, Bruins trying to find way
ESPN.com's Game of the Week: Habs vs. Bruins
Maybe you could have anticipated at least half of this unsettled equation -- a Montreal Canadiens team that underwent an offseason face-lift, tummy tuck and lip injection struggling to find its identity through the first month of the NHL season.
But as the Habs prepare to visit the Boston Bruins for the first of their six Northeast Division clashes Thursday night -- and the first meeting since the Bruins humiliated the Canadiens in the first round of this past spring's playoffs -- it marks the meeting of not one but two teams twisting in the wind.
When the puck drops at TD Garden, the sobering reality is that neither of these two great rivals would be in the bracket if the playoffs were to begin Thursday. That said, this game looms as an important touchstone for two teams trying to find their way, not to mention the chance to settle old scores.
One player who has appreciated the rivalry from afar and is close to examining it from the inside is the Habs' leading scorer, Mike Cammalleri.
The talented forward has adjusted nicely to his move from Calgary to Montreal and leads the 7-8-0 Habs in goals (seven) and points (14), but he is one of eight new faces added to Montreal's every-day lineup in the offseason. That's to say nothing of new coach Jacques Martin.
Cammalleri acknowledged that the process of getting to know each other and earning each other's respect, and the respect of the coaching staff, is an ongoing process.
"It takes time," he told ESPN.com.
But, he added, having new faces in the lineup isn't going to cut it as an excuse, especially now that the season is into its second month. "Now it's time to win some games," Cammalleri said.
The Habs had won five games in a row at the Bell Centre but were beaten 5-4 by Atlanta on Tuesday night. Carey Price's record dropped to 2-6-0, and he hasn't won in more than a month, as the Habs' goaltending situation remains murky at best. Now, the Canadiens take a droopy 2-5-0 road record into Boston. They also carry the burden of being the 25th-ranked team in goals allowed per game, a defensive problem that Martin's arrival was supposed to address.
One of the problems facing Montreal is that although Cammalleri and new linemates Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta at times have been dominant, collecting a combined 15 goals, there has been little in the way of supporting offense from the rest of the forward contingent, which has a total of 16 goals. The Habs have played 11 one-goal games thus far and are a pedestrian 6-5-0 in those games.
"I like our team," Cammalleri said. "But I think we could have done a lot better than we have at this point. We've definitely fought and struggled to find consistency this year."
In some ways, the Bruins (6-7-1) might be the perfect foil for the Habs, as the defending regular-season Eastern Conference champs are dealing with their own identity crisis. In fact, the Bruins' concerns are more deep-rooted, given how far they've fallen.
After they captured that top East seed with a dominating performance last season, the Bruins swept the Habs before being upset in seven games by the Carolina Hurricanes.
This season, expectations were again high for the Bruins, but injuries, the departure of Phil Kessel and an inability to generate offense have seen Boston stagger through the first month.
The Bruins face their hated Northeast Division foes having been shut out in their past two games. They have lost four of six and have yet to win two games in a row this season.
"It's been tough," forward Steve Begin told ESPN.com before Thursday's game. "We're having a hard time scoring goals. We're doing what we should do. Right now, the puck doesn't bounce for us."
One of the reasons the Bruins might not be getting the breaks is they don't have some key ingredients in their lineup, ingredients that have made the team's breaks in the past. Marc Savard and Milan Lucic, two-thirds of the team's No. 1 line from last season, are on the shelf with long-term injuries. Kessel, the third member of that trio, just made a dynamic debut in Toronto on Tuesday, throwing 10 shots on goal for the Leafs in a sobering reminder of just how different this current version of the Bruins is.
Savard's loss has been particularly noticeable on the Boston power play. A year ago, the Bruins had the fourth-ranked power-play unit; this year, they have scored just six times on the man advantage, and four of those were in a rout of the sad-sack Hurricanes. Beyond that, the Bruins have managed just six goals on 52 chances, sitting last in the league at 11.5 percent.
In fact, little seems to have carried over from last season's stellar regular season, which saw Zdeno Chara earn his first Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman, Tim Thomas take home the Vezina as the NHL's best goaltender and Claude Julien earn coach of the year honors.
The Bruins lost just six games in regulation in their 41 home dates in 2008-09. They've dropped seven regulation contests at home in the first month of this season alone. Boston has given up the first goal 10 times in 14 games. The Bruins are 3-6-1 in those contests. The Habs aren't much better, giving up the opening marker in nine of 15 games. They are 2-7-0 in those contests.
But if there is anyone who knows what a game like Thursday's will mean, regardless of the standings or the current state of affairs for either team, it's Begin. The native of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, played five seasons in Montreal and one for the team's AHL affiliate in Hamilton. He was with the Habs two postseasons ago when they dispatched the Bruins in seven games before losing to Philadelphia in the second round.
Last season, the Bruins returned the favor by humbling the Habs in four straight games, a series defeat that was directly linked to Montreal's dramatic offseason overhaul.
Begin was dealt to Dallas at the trade deadline last season, then signed with Boston in the offseason. One of the attractions for him was the presence of Julien, who coached Begin when both were in Montreal. The rugged forward seems to have found a home in Boston; he has two goals and four assists and is averaging 13:03 a night in ice time.
Julien is the kind of coach who rewards hardworking players with more ice time and responsibilities, Begin said.
"Guys like him for that," he said. "It was a perfect match for my style of play. Right from day one, I felt like I'd been part of the team forever."
Although the Bruins were dumped 2-0 in Detroit on Tuesday night, Julien gave them the day off Wednesday in advance of Thursday's clash. Not that Begin had a restful day, as he fielded calls from the Quebec media and ESPN.com.
"I'm not nervous," he said of facing his former team in a Bruins jersey for the first time. He's just hoping the Habs' appearance coincides with some much-needed luck for the home side.
"It's a big war between these two teams," Begin said. "Now, I'm on the other side."
Scott Burnside covers the NHL for ESPN.com.
THURSDAY NIGHT HOCKEY
GAME OF THE WEEK
MORE FROM ESPN BOSTON
Check out the new ESPN Boston, the place for your local Boston sports coverage.
