The Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins met on Saturday.
The two teams were playing their 765th meeting in history.
Here's the Habs lineup for the duel.
Tonight's lineup
Tonight composition#GoHabsGo | @mtlgazette pic.twitter.com/8bQMPg2xvt
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) November 16, 2025
Alex Newhook will miss several weeksTherefore, Jared Davidson took his place in the lineup.
Kirby Dach replaced Newhook on the second line along with Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen.
Samuel Montembeault was tasked with slowing down the Boston Bruins.
Generally speaking, at least this season, Saturday's games have been quite interesting, especially when it comes to the physical aspect.
To be fair, both teams quickly set the tone for the match.
Two fights broke out in the first four minutes of the game, including one early on.
This set the tone for the match → https://t.co/3exE06GeKR
– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) November 16, 2025
It was after these fights that both teams began to show excellent hockey.
The Bruins opened the scoring minutes after two contests. David Pastrnak completely fooled Montembeault, who thought the elite shooter was going to take advantage of the catch. However, he converted the shot and passed to Marat Khusnutdinov, who had a gaping cage.
A total of five penalties were awarded in the first twenty minutes. The game saw no power play goals in the first period (despite the Habs' five-on-three advantage), but Jake Evans tied the game short-handed.
Evans took advantage of the two-on-one situation to land the perfect shot.
PROFESSIONAL WITH SHORT ARMS
SHORTIE WARNING#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/zF4F1ezP2n
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) November 16, 2025
After twenty minutes of play the score was 1-1.
However, the Bruins wasted no time in the second period as Mason Lorey gave his team the lead with a shot from the point.
Midway through the second period, the Habs took advantage of another five-on-three advantage. But once again it didn't pay off.
Immediately following this five-on-three play, the Habs took advantage of another power play. Unfortunately, the highlight of this massive attack was Noah Dobson's shot being blocked by Charlie McAvoy's chin. It should also be noted that Dobson has an extremely powerful shot.
He immediately collapsed, blood pouring across the skating rink. A scene you never want to see… He apparently retreated to the locker room for immediate medical attention.
Dear Sir… Charlie McAvoy puts the cracker directly in his mouth.
I sincerely hope that everything is okay with him. It's scary. pic.twitter.com/pXuQPWOVKa
— Matt Drake (@DrakeMT) November 16, 2025
He was transferred to a hospital near the Bell Center for treatment.
Juraj Slafkovski took a botched penalty while attacking territory with just minutes left in the second period, leading to the Bruins' goal.
Viktor Arvidsson scored his 200th career goal.
Luckily for the Habs, Cole Caufield took advantage of the breakaway to cut the deficit to one goal.
Hello, it's Cole!
13 for 13#GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/FztgJKd5yN
– Montreal Canadiens (@CanadiensMTL) November 16, 2025
After the second period the score was 3:2 in favor of the Bruins.
The final period was a closely contested one, with good scoring chances on both sides.
Samuel Montembeault held the line with several big saves.
However, the Habs were unable to tie the game and the Bruins moved past the Habs in the standings. Final score: 3-2 Bruins.
The Habs' next game is Monday night when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Extension
– Due to Newhook’s injury, the second power play needed a replacement. For the remainder of the last game against the Dallas Stars, we saw Joe Veleno take Newhook's place, but let's just say it's not ideal as Veleno still hasn't scored a point. Kapanen was present several times during this second wave.
– At the beginning of the game, Juraj Slafkovsky was still in the first wave, but as the game progressed we saw how Dobson took his place. However, we did not see Slafkovsky in the second wave, and Hutson was present in both waves, as was Suzuki. We also saw Brendan Gallagher in the 2nd wave.
“In a game like this, Slafkovsky had to stand up and play intimidatingly. He looked soft and it certainly wasn't his best game. That's probably why Martin St. Louis left him out of the power play, though Slavs is the Habs' leading power play scorer this season.
This is a physical game.
This is exactly the game in which Slafkovsky needs to shine. He loses most of his battles, falls repeatedly and lacks explosion.
I am writing this because I am one of the most optimistic about Yurazh.
But tonight it's … https://t.co/NHazYpotWS
– Anthony Martineau (@Antho_Martineau) November 16, 2025
– As usual, Alexandre Carrier and Mike Matheson blocked several shots to help the club. However, the Habs were in for a surprise in the blocked shots department. Lane Hutson blocked three shots in the game. Matheson and Carrier blocked four shots. Hutson was the Habs' most used player.
– Towards the middle of the final period, the Habs found themselves in the minority. The Bruins had some quality chances, but Montembeault was very reliable.
