The Montreal Canadiens (19-12-5) are in Boston tonight to wrap up their pre-Christmas break schedule against the Bruins (20-16-1), where centre Phillip Danault will play his first game back with the Habs after spending the last 4.5 years with the Los Angeles Kings. Both teams are coming into tonight’s matchup having lost their last game on Sunday. For the Canadiens, it was a 4-3 shootout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Bruins have lost 3 straight games, including a 6-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators in their last outing.

Full team rosters and stats ahead of tonight’s game between the Canadiens and Bruins in Boston (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS) #Habs: pic.twitter.com/5LqqRedIar

— Stu Cowan (@StuCowan1) December 23, 2025

Danault will be centering a line between Alexandre Texier and Josh Anderson in his Habs debut tonight. By adding Danault to this trio, this line will be able to perform similarly to how they did with Jake Evans, as he should provide a good defensive presence on the line. Not to mention playing with Texier, who has sneaky good offensive skill, could help Danault refind his offensive game, which has seemed nonexistent with the Kings so far this season, posting just 5 assists in 30 games.

✅Phillip Danault will (re)make his Canadiens’ debut in Boston on Tuesday.
– Acquired in a trade with LAK on FRI. https://t.co/TtZgD28yYC

— Daily Faceoff – Fantasy (@DFOFantasy) December 23, 2025

While Danault has never been much of a goal scorer, he is expected to have at least a few goals at this point in the season. Canadiens GM Kent Hughes even mentioned in his press conference following the acquisition of Danault that he believes he’ll be able to find his offensive game here, given that just 8 months ago, he registered 8 points in 6 playoff games with the Kings. Now we shouldn’t expect a ton of offence from Danault, but he could easily score his first goal of the year while playing with Texier tonight. We shouldn’t expect a goal from him, but it can easily happen if he’s given a good opportunity to do so.

Habs coach Marty St. Louis just confirmed that Jacob Fowler will get the start for the Habs vs the Bruins on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/pVIrPwnfSV

— /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) December 22, 2025

The Canadiens have confirmed that Jacob Fowler will be getting the start for them in goal tonight. Fowler previously played 2 years in the NCAA at Boston College and will therefore be returning to play in the city for the first time since turning pro at the end of last year. The Habs rookie netminder is coming off a 31-save shutout performance against the Penguins on Saturday night. Playing in front of friends and coming off his first NHL shutout, Fowler should come into tonight’s matchup feeling very confident, which will help both him and the Habs greatly. It should hopefully be a good game for the 21-year-old tonight.

Fowler’s opponent at the other end of the ice tonight will be Jeremy Swayman, who is getting the start for the Bruins. Swayman was in the nets for the Bruins’ 3-2 victory against the Habs back in November, where he played a very key role in his team getting the win thanks to his 26 saves on 28 shots. Swayman has a career 10-1-1 record in 12 games against the Habs with a 2.66 GAA and a .903 save percentage. However, Swayman has had a very up-and-down season where he’s posted a .906 save percentage and a 2.78 GAA. In his last 5 games, he’s struggled with a 1-3-0 record, a 3.31 GAA, and an .864 save percentage. Will he bounce back and have another strong performance against the Habs?

Dec 23, 2025: NHL Starting Goalies

PIT Stuart Skinner vs TOR (TBA)****
DAL Casey DeSmith vs DET John Gibson
NYR Igor Shesterkin vs WAS Logan Thompson
MTL Jacob Fowler vs BOS Jeremy Swayman
BUF Alex Lyon vs OTT Linus Ullmark
NJD Jacob Markstrom vs NYI David Rittich

1/3

— LinesLinesLines (@CcCMiddleton) December 23, 2025

One player that the Habs will need to watch carefully tonight is Morgan Geekie, who is 2nd in goals in the NHL with 25 this season. He has become one of the most underrated players in the NHL this year and continues to be very dangerous with his wrist shot. The Habs will need to remain disciplined and make sure not to give much for Geekie & David Pastrnak to capitalize on in tonight’s matchup.

With Fowler playing in his college town and Swayman’s history against the Habs, this game is looking like it could be very low-scoring. Therefore, wagering the Under 5.5 Goals for tonight could be a smart bet. Meanwhile, the Habs have had a lot of struggles against the Bruins in recent seasons and are listed as +105 road underdogs. Ivan Demidov and Juraj Slafkovsky are coming off great performances on Sunday, being a huge reason why the Habs even stayed in the game for much of regulation. Demidov’s odds to register 1+ points are -140, while Slafkovsky’s line to get 1+ points is set at +105. Will the duo continue to be deadly against the Bruins?

What are your score predictions for tonight’s Habs vs. Bruins matchup?