Tough news for the Habs today as Doctors have determined that Alexei Emelin will need surgery to repair the damage that was done to his knee as Emelin fell after a body check on Milan Lucic. The loss of Emelin is a large one for Montreal who loose a valuable stay at home guy, and physical presence. Beaulieu will replace him in the short term but the timing of the injury immediately following the trade deadline means that Marc Bergevin will need to replace the big Russian with young players from Hamilton.

Big time game for the Canadiens tonight as the two teams atop the North East Division clash, which could have a big impact on how the standings play out once we get to the second season. Currently Montreal lead Boston by a single point having played an extra game. The dog-fight for seeding should add some intensity to this game – though with Boston and Montreal – you really don’t need to sweeten the pot.

By all indications from TSN’s John Lu and Habsinsideout Hockeyinsideout, Tomas Plekanec participated in the morning skate and looks to be playing tonight – though he remains a game-time decision. That could be good news for the Canadiens who will try to exploit the absence of (in my opinion) the league’s most under-rated two-way forward Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron is out with a concussion which is a huge loss for the Bruins, who lean on him to lead their penalty kill and take key defensive zone faceoffs.

Given the way these two teams play each other every time – predictions are useless, but the Habs will need to bring their best speed possible as the Bruins have really clogged up the neutral zone thus far in the season series, exploiting turnovers and creating odd-man rushes. All eyes will be on the Markov-Emelin pairing early to see if they can cut down on the turnovers at the blue-line – which almost sunk the Canadiens the last time these two teams met.

Go Habs Go!!

~Mats