Habs and Bruins geared up for Boston showdown

Boston Bruins' Chris Kelly is checked into the boards by Montreal Canadiens' P.K. Subban during first period NHL hockey action Thursday, October 16, 2014 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

The Boston Bruins allowed hockey fans to speculate all day until they opted not to inject some extra drama into the Sunday showdown with the Canadiens by giving Malcolm Subban his first-ever NHL start against the visiting Canadiens.

Tuukka Rask faced 40 shots in a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Islanders Saturday, which led some to think that he'd ride the pine for some rest Sunday against the Canadiens, a team he has struggled against.

Malcolm Subban, 21, has a .921 save percentage and 2.47 goals against average in his second season at the AHL Providence affiliate.

P.K. Subban, who assisted on three goals in the Canadiens 6-2 win over the Devils Saturday, said he was ready to face his little brother.

"From the looks of it I’ll have many opportunities to play against my brother and he has played really well in the AHL when he was down there and now he’s up, he’s an NHLer now. Hopefully he’s in the net tomorrow and if he’s not -- listen we’re going there to win a hockey game," P.K. Subban told reporters Saturday night.

The surging Bruins hope to avoid losing all four matchups this season against their Atlantic Division rivals Sunday night in Boston.

Boston (28-17-7) won 2-1 at home over the New York Islanders on Saturday. Rask stopped 39 shots in the Bruins' ninth win in 12 games.

"It's one of many lately,'' coach Claude Julien said of Rask's night. ''He's been in a zone, really good for us and focused and intense. He's not afraid to yell at the players around him if they're not doing their job. He's just been a determined athlete for us the last little while. It's made a big difference for our hockey team.''

Rask is 8-2-3 with a 1.67 goals-against average in his last 13 starts for Boston, which leads the NHL with a 1.64 GAA since the start of January.

Julien did not say whether Rask would start Sunday. He is 3-12-3 with a 2.81 GAA in 18 career regular-season starts against the Canadiens.

Backup Niklas Svedberg lost his lone start versus Montreal (33-15-3) in a 29-save effort in a 5-1 loss Nov. 13.

Another option would be to give Malcolm Subban - the younger brother of Canadiens star P.K. Subban - his NHL debut.

''If they want me to play, I'll play,'' Rask said. ''It doesn't matter to me. Nobody's told me otherwise, so I'm sure I'll be playing. Hopefully I'll get a win so I don't have to answer any questions.''

Montreal took the final two games of last season's playoff series against Boston to win in seven games before going 3-0-0 this season versus the Bruins behind Carey Price's 1.67 GAA and a 13-5 edge in goals.

The Canadiens can complete their first regular-season sweep of Boston since taking all eight meetings in 2007-08.

Price made 33 saves the last time these teams met in a 2-0 road win Nov. 22. Despite the loss, the Bruins finally slowed down Max Pacioretty, who was held without a point after amassing five in the first two matchups.

Montreal is 4 for 11 on the power play in the season series.

That unit endured a four-game drought without a goal before going 3 for 3 in Saturday's 6-2 home win over New Jersey. Andrei Markov, Lars Eller and Tomas Plekanec all scored with the man advantage in the second period and the Canadiens added three goals in the third.

P.K. Subban matched a career high with three assists - all on the power play - for Montreal, which avoided a third straight loss and won for the sixth time in eight games.

"We moved the puck well and got to net when we had to," he said. "Our focus from the start was to try to generate as many shots as we could and we had 15 in the first period. Good things happened for us.''

Price made 21 saves. It is unclear if he will start Sunday, though he has posted a 1.17 GAA in capturing his last six road starts. Backup Dustin Tokarski has faced Boston once back in 2012.

-With a file from The Associated Press