Game 9 – Canadiens vs. Sharks: Swimming With The Young Sharks

The Montreal Canadiens had a day off on Sunday and returned to work on Monday. The lines and pairings stayed the same, but there was some good news: Mike Matheson and Florian Xhekaj were skating on the second rink. While they both remain unavailable, this is a positive development.

On Tuesday, the Habs will host the San Jose Sharks at the Bell Centre before embarking on a four-game road trip that will start in Chicago for a rare Friday night game. Last season, the young Sharks bested the Canadiens, winning both duels by a combined score of 11-7. Macklin Celebrini was the Sainte-Flanelle’s tormentor-in-chief, recording seven points in those two games. Unlike Montreal, San Jose made many roster tweaks this summer, adding Jacob Trouba, Darnell Nurse, and Michael Kessellring to its backend, as well as Mason Marchement and Ivar Stenberg up front. They did, however, lose William Eklund, Mario Ferraro, and John Klingberg, to name a few.

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Friday, after practice, Martin St-Louis refused to say who would start at net, as the coach almost always does. Jakub Dobes was in net for both meetings last season and has a 4.67 goals-against average and an .812 save percentage against the visitors. As for Jacob Fowler, he hasn't faced them yet. The latter has been the better of the two netminders this season with a 3-1-0 record, a 2.16 GAA, and a .900 SV. Meanwhile, the former has a 1-2-1 record, a 4.63 GAA, and a .842 SV.

As for the Sharks, Yaroslav Askarov was in net for their Monday night game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, so Alex Nedeljkovic should start. The latter has more experience against the Habs: a 4-1-1 record, a fantastic 1.78 GAA, and an impressive .944 SV. As for Askarov, he’s 1-1-0 with a 4.59 GAA and a .873 SV. Taking that into account, it makes even more sense that Nedeljkovic should start.

Chris Kreider is the Canadiens’ most productive forward against the Sharks with 18 points in 24 games, followed by Phillip Danault, but given his years in their division, that’s hardly surprising. The Victoriaville native has 12 points in 28 games. Surprisingly, Noah Dobson comes in second with 10 points in 28 games, while captain Nick Suzuki is just out of the top three with 9 points in 11 duels. The centerman has been on fire since the start of the season; he has 10 points in eight games so far, including points in his last three outings.

Tyler Toffoli leads the Sharks in production against the Habs with 20 points in 24 games, followed by Alexander Wenneberg with 18 in 24 and Dimitri Orlov with 18 in 35. None of them have a point-per-game average as high as Celebrini's; however, he has nine points against the Habs in four games. The newly minted Sharks captain has 11 points in just six games this season and promises to be quite a challenge for St-Louis’ men.

The Canadiens and Sharks have split the last 10 meetings evenly, but San Jose has had the upper hand in the last two tilts. The game is set for 7:00 PM on TSN 2 (English) and RDS (French).  Wes McCauley and Brandon Blandina will call the game, while Jesse Marquis and Anthony Lapointe will serve as linesmen. 

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