It’s been a long time since a Bruins vs. Canadiens showdown meant as much as Saturday’s head-to-head at the Bell Centre. Too long, actually.

It was probably the first meaningful head-to-head between these clubs since Feb. 2017, actually, when Bruce Cassidy and the Bruins beat the Canadiens by a 4-0 final and ultimately got Montreal head coach Michel Therrien fired.

Here’s a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game…

3rd Star: David Pastrnak

Nov 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Bruins forward David Pastrnak (88) plays the puck during the third period of the game against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre. (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)

This was one of those games where Bruins superstar David Pastrnak was all over the place for the Bruins. It wasn’t all perfect (Pastrnak’s turnover led to Montreal’s second goal of the night), but it was yet another night where the positives outweighed the negatives by a wide margin, with Pastrnak on the board with two helpers and five shots on goal in the winning effort.

Pastrnak got things started early, with an end-to-end rush that drew a penalty in the opening moments of the first period, and had a hand in Boston’s first goal of the evening, with a secondary helper on a Marat Khusnutdinov strike.

Even with two apples, you can argue Pastrnak should’ve had even more, as he hit Morgan Geekie with a great feed on a breakaway look that did not go.

So much is made of Pastrnak and the way he has downright tortured the Maple Leafs since coming into the NHL. And rightfully so, I would add. But Montreal also hates to see No. 88 coming their way, as he’s now up to 20 goals and 44 points in 33 career head-to-heads with the Canadiens.

That’s the third-most by any Bruin since 2005, trailing only Brad Marchand (48 points) and Patrice Bergeron (59 points), and 17th-most among all NHLers vs. Montreal since the start of the 2005-06 season. 

2nd Star: Nikita Zadorov

Nov 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble (47) fights Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov (91) at the Bell Centre. (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)

Not that he would need any reminding, but Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov certainly got the memo about this being a rivalry game. So much so that Zadorov, who has frequently cited the importance of the Black and Gold’s history and what it means to be a Bruin, decided to treat the Bell Centre crowd to an opening faceoff bout with the Canadiens’ Jayden Struble.

But Zadorov had more than the fight to his name in this contest.

Zadorov had two key puck touches, including the primary helper, on the Khusnutdinov goal that opened things up for the Bruins, and finished this contest with a hit and two blocks in over 21 minutes of time on ice.

The Bruins also had to lean on Zadorov (and Hampus Lindholm) for the second half of the game after the Bruins lost Charlie McAvoy to a jaw injury. That included Zadorov playing 3:12 of the final 5:04 of the game, and headlined by a 2:12 shift to close out the game and with the B’s protecting a one-goal lead. 

Zadorov also logged 4:53 of shorthanded time on ice for a Black and Gold penalty kill that finished the night a perfect 7-for-7 down a man (or two).

1st Star: Jeremy Swayman

Nov 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman (1) and teammate Joonas Korpisalo (70) celebrate the win against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre. (Eric Bolte-Imagn Images)

Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman loves playing the Canadiens. He’s made no secret about that, in case nine wins in 11 starts entering Saturday’s head-to-head didn’t confirm it for you. But on Saturday, Swayman had to be (and was) Boston’s best player on the way to career win No. 10 vs. Montreal.

Hit with 28 shots in this contest, Swayman finished with 26 saves in the Boston crease. And even the goals against were nothing to sneeze at. On Montreal’s first goal, the Bruins were guilty of trying to force a pass that wasn’t there, which sent the Canadiens the other way on a shorthanded 2-on-1 look. And on their second goal, Pastrnak had an egregious turnover to by all means give up possession and allow the Habs to have another shorthanded rush.

And even though he didn’t come up with saves on those two, he still had himself one hell of a night beyond the eye test and highlight-reel stops. That was reflected with Swayman’s NaturalStatTrick.com numbers for this one, with Swayman credited with saves on seven of eight high-danger shots faced, and with an expected goals against average of 4.30.

Swayman was simply incredible in this one, and has quietly put together a strong season to date, even if the raw numbers do not reflect that just yet.