There could be more pressure on the Habs' young defencemen because Mike Matheson is questionable for this game.
Here are five things you should know about the Los Angeles Kings-Canadiens game Saturday at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., CITY, SNE, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
The matchup: The Canadiens have had time to rest and recover from jet lag after wrapping up their western road trip with a 4-2 win Tuesday in Seattle. Montreal finished the trip with a 2-1-1 record and improved to 13-11-2 on the season. That’s good for sixth place in the Atlantic Division and they are within hailing distance of a playoff spot. The Kings are third in the Pacific Division with a 14-11-4 record, but they fell 5-0 in Toronto on Thursday and have struggled of late with a 3-4-3 record in their last 10 games.
Since the Montreal Canadiens making the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 28 years, this newsletter is the dedicated Montreal Canadiens fan's source for exclusive Habs content, insight and analysis.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of HI/O: Montreal's Road to the Cup will soon be in your inbox.
Allen back on track: Jake Allen had a good road trip. He won two of his three starts and it was difficult to fault him in the 5-3 loss in Edmonton because the Oilers, with the one-two punch of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, scored three power-play goals on five opportunities. He was the difference in the opening game of the road trip, when he stopped 45 of 46 shots in the 2-1 win over the Calgary Flames. He capped the trip with a 31-save performance in Seattle. It was a strong turnaround for Allen, who improved to 8-9 on the season with a 3.42 goals-against average.
Update from team clinic: There could be more pressure on the Canadiens’ young defencemen because Mike Matheson is questionable for this game. Matheson left practice Thursday and wasn’t on the ice Friday. The Canadiens are also missing veteran defenceman David Savard. He’s listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but he’s not practising. Forwards Jonathan Drouin and Mike Hoffman shed their non-contact jerseys Friday and could be back in the lineup soon. Brendan Gallagher is out for at least another week and there is no timeline for Sean Monahan, who is out with a foot injury.
Suzuki, Caufield provide punch: It’s been a while since the Canadiens had a player in the top 30 in the NHL scoring race, but Nick Suzuki is 27th. He’s scoring at a better than a point-a-game pace with 14 goals and 29 points in 26 games. Linemate Cole Caufield has been the beneficiary of many of those assists and he has a team-high 15 goals, which is tied for eighth in the NHL, one ahead of last season’s Rocket Richard Trophy winner, Auston Matthews. With head coach Martin St. Louis stressing offence, Montreal is scoring 2.96 goals a game. That’s an improvement over recent years, but the Canadiens rank only 24th in the NHL.
Faceoff duel looms: The Canadiens have improved their faceoff percentage this season, ranking 12th with a success rate of 51.6, but they’ll be matched against one of the top faceoff men in the league and we’re not talking about former Canadien Phil Danault. He’s winning faceoffs at a very good 52.2-per-cent clip, but the Kings’ main man is veteran Anze Kopitar, who has won 59.4 per cent of his draws. Kevin Fiala is the Kings’ leading scorer with 30 points, six more than Kopitar. The only King with double-digit goals is Gabriel Vilardi with 13. Danault has 19 points, including seven goals.
phickey@postmedia.com
twitter.com/zababes1
-
Youngsters set to take over NHL, Canadiens' Jake Allen says
-
Stu Cowan: DJ Joel in the house for Canadiens' musical needs
-
In the Habs Room: First NHL goal 'feels great' for Johnathan Kovacevic