Aspirot has played at Bell, but never in a regular-season NHL game.
“We played here in preseason games, and I think we played here during COVID year, so no one was in the stands,” said Aspirot, who was with AHL’s Belleville Senators at that time. “We had cardboard people, so probably a different atmosphere tonight for sure.”
Aspirot, who made his NHL debut this season, counted former Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin as one of his favorites.
“Back in the day when he was playing, I think he was playing a hard game with some good, physical hits and kept it simple defensively. So, I think I looked at him when I was younger and liked watching him play.”
Not surprisingly, Aspirot likes to play a similar style to Emelin.
Though a healthy scratch the last two games, it wasn’t a reflection of poor play. Aspirot was just caught in a numbers game.
“He didn’t do anything wrong. He was really excellent,” said Bruins coach Marco Sturm of Aspirot’s six-game run. “And now I just want to give him the opportunity to play here in Montreal.”
Aspirot, who went in for Henri Jokiharju on the third pairing with Mason Lohrei, said the message from Sturm has been to keep it simple.
“Keep using my feet, close the gap hard, and make the right play defensively,” he said. “So, I try to do that every night.”
A different take on rivalry
It also was a homecoming for Bruins winger Jeffrey Viel, another Quebec native. Viel did play a game at Bell Centre when he was with the Sharks, calling the experience “incredible.”
Now he gets to be a part of a rivalry he remembers well as a youth.
“Just the memories when I was growing up, going to Bell Centre, and the rivalry, too, Boston-Montreal growing up, the crazy playoffs that they had and over the years, and that’s what I grew up watching,” said Viel.
He acknowledged mixed emotions when watching this heated Original Six rivalry as a youngster.
“Honestly, I was a Montreal Canadiens fan, but I think the culture and just the style of play that the Bruins played was always more fitting of my mold and my role,” said Viel, whose physical style has energized Boston’s fourth line.
Canadiens hurting
The Canadiens were without forward Alex Newhook and defenseman Kaiden Guhle, both of whom underwent surgery this week. Newhook suffered a fractured ankle against the Stars Thursday when he was tripped up and crashed awkwardly, feet-first into the end boards. He will be out for four months. Jared Davidson made his NHL debut in place of Newhook. Guhle has a partially torn adductor muscle and will miss up to 10 weeks … Sturm called Bell Centre his “favorite building.” Sturm played in this rivalry game 27 times as a member of the Bruins … After an offday, the Bruins will host the Hurricanes Monday before embarking on a nine-day, four-game trip to Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Jose, and Long Island.
Jim McBride can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @globejimmcbride.
