Surprise starter

MONTREAL -- Alex Auld, last seen between the pipes on Thursday against Toronto, will get the nod tonight against Montreal, as the Bruins attempt to snap a five-game losing streak against the Canadiens this season.

Auld will square off with Cristobal Huet (15-8-5, 2.32 GAA, .924 save percentage).

* There's a good chance that the No. 1 line of Marco Sturm, Marc Savard, and Phil Kessel and the top defensive pairing of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Wideman will be matched against Montreal's No. 2 line of Andrei Kostitsyn, Tomas Plekanec, and Alex Kovalev. In previous games, Claude Julien had deployed his top players against Saku Koivu's line. This season, Plekanec has scored three goals and five assists in five games against the Bruins. Kovalev has put up a 4-3--7 line against the Bruins this year.

* Shawn Thornton will be the healthy scratch for the second straight game.

* Mark Stuart took a deflected puck in the mouth during the morning skate. Stuart was bloodied but completed the skate and will be fine for tonight.

* Assistant GM Jim Benning, scout Scott Bradley, and vice president Cam Neely are expected to attend tomorrow's CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Edmonton. The game features most of the top eligible players for the 2008 draft.

Tonight's expected lineup

Sturm-Savard-Kessel
Lucic-Metropolit-Kobasew
Sobotka-Krejci-Pelletier
Reich-Nokelainen-Schaefer

Chara-Wideman
Stuart-Ward
Ference-Hnidy

Auld