The Montreal Canadiens will try to put an end to their 3-game losing streak against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena tonight. After going scoreless in their last 17 man-advantage, the Habs have shuffled their cards on the power play and it will be interesting to see the results.
While his players keep dropping like flies, coach Martin St-Louis and his Montreal Canadiens must keep going because, as he often says himself, the league doesn’t care. After losing Alex Newhook on Thursday night against the Dallas Stars, the Habs announced that Kirby Dach would also be out of action for four to six weeks because of a fractured foot. The big center has got to be one of the unluckiest players ever.
After battling two knee injuries in a row, the 6-foot-four and 221-pound pivot was finding his rhythm and his legs. It was becoming a bigger contributor, not only offensively but also defensively, blocking more shots, and it’s probably on one of those blocks that the injury happened. His absence forced the Habs to recall a second player from the Laval Rocket, and Joshua Roy will be joining Jared Davidson in Montreal. The new call up will be facing the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight.
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Since the farm team was on the road, Roy was scheduled to join the Canadiens in Columbus. In 10 games with the Rocket this season, he has put up seven points, and he was held off the scoresheet in the only game he played with the Habs this season.
Monday evening’s tilt will be the first of three meetings between the two teams this year, with the Jackets set to visit the Habs in late March and on April 11th. The Canadiens have won seven out of the last ten duels, and three of those wins came at the Nationwide Arena.
The coach has already announced that Jakub Dobes will be in the net in Columbus. The rookie goalie has never taken on the Ohio side, but really needs to get back on the horse after giving up five goals on 13 shots to the Stars on Thursday. After a fantastic start to the season, the Czech masked man has lost his last two starts. He now has a 2.70 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage, a stark contrast with the numbers he had compiled earlier in the season, which had him in the Calder Trophy conversation. As for Samuel Montembeault, he has a 5-4-0 record against tonight’s hosts with a 3.17 GAA and a .898 SV.
The Jackets have yet to confirm who will be in the net for them, but so far this season, Jet Greaves has seen the lion’s share of the work, starting 11 of their 18 games. He has compiled a 2.79 GAA and a .904 SV. The young netminder has only faced the Canadiens once, and while he won the game, he gave up four goals on 31 shots for a .871 SV%. As for Elvis Merzlikins, he has a 3-3-3 record against the Canadiens with a 3.44 GAA and a .879 SV.
Up front, Sean Monahan is the Jackets’ most productive forward against the Habs with 22 points in 28 games, followed by Charlie Coyle with 20 points in 28 games as well and Zach Werenski, who has 16 points in 21 games. The Canadiens should also keep an eye on Kiril Marchenko, who’s in the midst of an 11-game point streak.
On the Canadiens’ side, captain Nick Suzuki loves taking on the Jackets; he has 18 points in just 15 games, and sniper Cole Caufield also has more than a point-per-game against them with 12 in 10 meetings. Brendan Gallagher has 16 points in 31 games, while Mike Matheson has 15 in 22 games.
All eyes will be on St-Louis’ new power play units since the Habs have failed to score in their last 17 man-advantage. Interestingly, the Blue Jackets are 26th in the league in penalty kill efficiency at just 72.9%. Columbus’ power play isn’t doing great either, with a 16.3% success rate. In comparison, Montreal’s PK is at 79.4% while the PP stands at 21.4%. It’s in freefall since the November 4 game, the last time the Sainte-Flanelle scored a power-play goal.
The Jackets have a 5-3-2 record in their last 10 games, and they’ve lost their previous game in the shootout against the New York Rangers on Saturday night. Meanwhile, the Canadiens will be desperate to end their three-game losing streak. Tonight’s tilt is scheduled for 7:30, and you can catch it on FDSNOH, RDS and on Prime.
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