The Montreal Canadiens will play the last game of their current road trip against the Seattle Kraken and will hope to sweep the season series after their 5-4 overtime win in the first game.
After getting some time to catch their breath, the Montreal Canadiens will be back in action on Tuesday night against the Seattle Kraken. This will already be the second and final game between the two teams this season since the Washington state-based outfit was at Centre Bell for the Habs’ home opener. Lane Lambert’s team is on a two-game win streak and will be hoping to avenge its 5-4 overtime defeat. The visitors were up 4-3 with less than three minutes left in the game, but Ivan Demidov scored an equalizer before Cole Caufield gave Montreal the win 3:25 into the overtime period.
If the Kraken are having a good start to the season, ranking second in the Pacific division, just one point behind leaders Vegas Golden Knights, it’s been tough for blueliner Brendan Montour. Not on the ice, he has four points in the five games he played. Off the ice, he announced in an emotionally charged media availability earlier this week that he recently lost his brother, who had been battling ALS for years.
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Starting netminders have yet to be confirmed, but Joey Daccord started seven of the Kraken’s nine games, and it would be surprising to see them use either of the backups, Matt Murray or Philip Grubauer. Daccord has a 5-1-1 record this season with a 2.48 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage. Against the Canadiens, he’s 2-1-1 with a 2.96 GAA and a .883 SV. Meanwhile, Murray has an 8-4-0 record, with a 2.23 GAA and a .924 SV. Most of those games were played a long time ago, before his lengthy injury issues; he last faced the Habs in 2022. As for Grubauer, he’s 4-4-0 with a 2.74 GAA and a .900 SV.
As for the Canadiens, Montembeault was in the net in the Canadiens' 5-4 win over the Kraken earlier this month, but he gave up four goals on 22 shots. In five games against the Kraken, he has a 2-2-1 record, a 3.82 GAA, and a .878 SV%. As for Jakub Dobes, he has lost his only game against the host in overtime, giving up five goals on 35 shots, but he is Montreal’s best goaltender so far this season.
On the attack, the Montour mentioned above is the Kraken’s most productive skater against the Habs with 18 points in 20 games, followed by Jaden Schwartz, who has 16 points in 21 meetings, and Jordan Eberle, who also has 16 points, but in 27 meetings. Eberle is the only Kraken with an active point streak; he has three goals in the last two games.
As for the Canadiens, captain Nick Suzuki leads the way with nine points in as many games against the hosts, and he’s also on a nine-game point streak, with two goals and 11 assists for 13 points in that time span. Cole Caufield has seven points in nine duels, while Alex Newhook also has seven points but in 10 tilts.
We’ll keep an eye on the Canadiens’ power play tonight. The man-advantage unit has looked much better since Martin St-Louis replaced Zachary Bolduc on the first wave by Ivan Demidov. The rookie’s first game on the first unit was against the Edmonton Oilers, when the Habs had a single power play, but on Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks, the Canadiens scored two goals on three opportunities.
Tuesday night’s tilt will be the fourth and final game of the road trip. The Habs are 2-1-0 so far and are currently in first place in the Atlantic division with 14 points. They are third in the conference and fifth in the league. The Canadiens’ next game will be on Saturday night, when they host the Ottawa Senators at the Bell Center. The Sens are on fire right now, having scored 14 goals in two games and won their last three matches.
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