Boston Bruins: 5 Key Questions for Home-and-Home with Montreal Canadiens

Two quests to reverse a rancid start will conflict both Thursday and Saturday when the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens engage in a home-and-home series to curtain each other’s October schedules.

Naturally, the notion of either team simultaneously improving its own state of affairs and deepening the other’s pothole will intensify the rivalry all the more as their six-game season series commences.

Where each team is at this point, with one month and one-eighth of the regular-season schedule nearly complete, this series could be the end of the beginning for one or both teams. In other words, how the Bruins and/or Habs emerge from the coming weekend could be indicative as to the long-term direction of their 2011-12 season.

On that note, here are five storylines to follow in the renewal of this matchup.

Rested or Rusty? Hungry or Hobbled?

The Canadiens will venture into TD Garden Thursday having just played two games in the previous three nights, including a home date with Philadelphia 24 hours prior.

Whether or not they can snap their six-game winless streak against the Flyers could sway their confidence entering their bout with the Bruins, but either way the Habs will be at a decisive disadvantage in terms of energy.

That is, of course, assuming Boston has made the best use of its four full days since its loss to San Jose. In fact, Thursday will offer the Bruins a second chance to pounce on a travel-weary visitor. They blatantly failed to do that last Saturday when the Sharks arrived on the heels of a game in New Jersey, yet beat Boston on account of better start-to-finish intensity.

Special or Not-so-Special Teams?

Going into Wednesday’s action, at which point each team had played eight games, the B's and Habs have given and drawn roughly the same number of power plays.

As much attention as Boston’s comically inept power-play continues to draw, currently with a 4-for-31 success rate, Montreal’s is a touch worse with a 3-for-32 success rate.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Bruins have been shorthanded 33 times and escaped 29 opposing power plays unscathed for an 87.9 penalty-killing percentage. The Canadiens have played a man down on 35 occasions, warding off the numerically advantaged team 28 times for 80 percent success.

Will both Boston and Montreal’s five-on-four brigades continue to be a non-factor or could this two-part set be the much-needed spark plug for either one or both teams?

New Masked Men in the Mix?

In part due to the timing of their three most recent playoff encounters, the signature Bruins-Canadiens goaltending matchup is between Tim Thomas and Carey Price.

This year, however, it is plain that Thomas will not be able to play or achieve as much as he did last season. Meanwhile, Price is struggling early with a 1-4-2 record, .878 save percentage and 3.13 goals against average.

Tuukka Rask is 1-5-1 in eight appearances against Montreal, including losses in each of his last four decisions. On the other hand, his lone win was a 3-0 shutout at the Bell Centre on Feb. 7, 2010. And logic says he’ll have to turn the tables sooner or later.

Meanwhile, Price has a seasoned crease colleague in Peter Budaj, who has seen action in only one game with the Habs so far. Odds are Budaj and Rask will both play at least one of the two games Thursday or Saturday, giving them a chance to break into the rivalry and start reversing their fortunes in it, respectively.

Will Pouliot Back His Mouth?

Shortly prior to training camp, Canadien-turned-Bruin Benoit Pouliot openly censured Montreal head coach Jacques Martin and bluntly said that he now considers himself “on the right side of the rivalry.”

Since then, any degree of enthusiasm for Black and Gold has hardly translated to the stats sheet. Through eight regular-season games, Pouliot has zero points, having failed to connect on 12 shots, coupled with a minus-two rating.

Will facing his old allies on Thursday be the trick to perking him up and thawing out his twig? Moreover, how will Pouliot respond to the reception he is bound to get at the Bell Centre on Saturday in the wake of his remarks?

Bell-Ringer for Boston?

Apart from their 2008-09 run to first place in the Eastern Conference and last year’s opening playoff round, the Bruins have had consistently tough luck in Montreal’s mansion.

The only reason Boston had the upper hand three seasons ago was a combination of its own juggernaut with Montreal’s dysfunction. The only reason the Bruins took two of three playoff meetings on the road last year was their uncanny ability to convert desperation into production, which they naturally needed after falling behind, two games to none.

There is reasonable potential for 2011-12 to be another exception to the rule against reaping rewards from the Bell Centre. After all, the Canadiens enter their bout with the Flyers having started their home slate at 0-3-2. And it is worth noting that there is growing speculation that Martin could soon be dismissed from his Montreal bench post the same way Guy Carbonneau lost the same job at midseason in 2008-09.

But what they get out of the enemy’s building this year will depend heavily on whether or not the Bruins can use this home-and-home to kick the Habs while they are down early, especially in Saturday’s meeting.