MONTREAL — The middle of January is a weird time for the Bruins and Canadiens to renew their historic rivalry, but here we are.
It’s been 11 months and one day since the Bruins and Canadiens faced each other, which happened to be their only regular-season meeting of the 2017 calendar year. On that Feb. 12 evening — the third game of the Bruce Cassidy era — the B’s earned a 4-0 shutout of their hated rivals.
Two days later, the Canadiens fired coach Michel Therrien and replaced him, Claude Julien. The winningest Bruins coach of all-time got the Habs back on track going 16-7-1 in their final 24 games and captured the Atlantic Division title before falling to the New York Rangers in the first round.