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March 25, 2023: Blue Jackets at Canadiens — five things you should know

Captain Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach have already set career highs this season with the Habs.

Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen is winless in his last seven games (0-6-1) after allowing four goals on 21 shots against the Bruins. His record this season is 14-24-3 with a 3.57 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage.
Canadiens goaltender Jake Allen is winless in his last seven games (0-6-1) after allowing four goals on 21 shots against the Bruins. His record this season is 14-24-3 with a 3.57 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

Here are five things you should know about Saturday’s game between the Canadiens (28-38-6) and the Columbus Blue Jackets (22-41-7) at the Bell Centre (7 p.m., SNE, CITY, TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).

The end is near: The Canadiens have only 10 games left in the season and this will be the second-to-last Saturday night game at the Bell Centre. The Carolina Hurricanes will be the visitors next Saturday, while the Canadiens will play their last Saturday game the following week in Toronto against the Maple Leafs. The Canadiens will play their final game on Thurs., April 13 at the Bell Centre against the Boston Bruins. The Canadiens are in 28th place in the overall NHL standings and have a 15-17-3 record at home.

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.

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Career high for Suzuki: Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki set a career high when he scored his 22nd goal of the season in Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Bruins in Boston. Suzuki had 13 goals during his rookie season in 2019-20, 15 goals in 2020-21 and 21 goals in 2021-22. Suzuki leads the team in scoring this season with 22-35-57 totals and he is the only Canadien to play in all 72 games so far. Suzuki was the only Canadien to play in all 82 games last season, when he posted 21-40-61 totals, setting a career high in points. While Suzuki leads the Canadiens in scoring, he only ranked 77th in NHL scoring through Thursday’s games.

Dach looks healthy: Kirby Dach had a goal and an assist against the Bruins, giving him 2-1-3 totals in two games since returning to the lineup after missing 16 games with a lower-body injury. Dach logged 24:00 of ice time against the Bruins, the most of any forward. He has 14-24-38 totals this season, moving ahead of Cole Caufield (26-10-36) and into second place in team scoring. Caufield has missed the last 26 games after having season-ending shoulder surgery. Dach has already set career highs in goals, assists and points after posting 9-17-26 totals in 70 games last season with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Allen struggling: Goalie Jake Allen is winless in his last seven games (0-6-1) after allowing four goals on 21 shots against the Bruins. He has an .853 save percentage during that span and his record this season is 14-24-3 with a 3.57 goals-against average and an .891 save percentage. Samuel Montembeault has a 14-14-3 record with a 3.32 GAA and a .905 save percentage.

Bedard Sweepstakes: The Blue Jackets look like they could have the best chance of winning the NHL draft lottery and the right to select junior sensation Connor Bedard, who has 70-72-142 totals in 55 games with the WHL’s Regina Pats. Heading into their home game Friday night against the New York Islanders, the Blue Jackets were the worst team in the NHL, two points behind the San Jose Sharks. Johnny Gaudreau led the Blue Jackets in scoring with 17-48-65 totals, followed by Patrik Laine (22-30-52) and Boone Jenner (24-17-41).

scowan@postmedia.com

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    Canadiens' Josh Anderson done for the season with high ankle sprain