The Montreal Canadiens will be looking to win a second game in as many days in Florida when they take on divisional rival Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Montreal Canadiens came out of their Christmas break with flying colors. Rookie goaltender Jakub Dobes shut out the reigning Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers in a 4-0 win, and the anemic second line produced two goals, both through Kirby Dach.
24 hours later, veteran netminder Samuel Montembeault will be back in net to take on John Cooper's men. While the Tampa Bay outfit is in fourth place in the Atlantic division, taking it on is no small task. The Canadiens' number one goaltender has a 1-2-1 record against the hosts with a 3.38 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage.
Tampa also played last night and as Andrei Vasilevskiy took on the New York Rangers, it would make sense for Jonas Johansson to start his eight game of the season, but nothing has been confirmed so far. The Lightning's number one netminder has got a phenomenal record against Montreal though, he's 15-2-2 with a 1.98 GAA and a .935 SP. Even though the backup also has a winning record at 2-1-0, his numbers aren't great with a 4.67 GAA and a .837 SP.
Today's tilt will be the first one between the two sides this season and there will be two more before the end of the regular season. The last time they locked horns, the visiting Lightning beat the Canadiens 7-4 at the Bell Centre. Cayden Primeau was in net and Steven Stamkos had picked up three points, neither of those things will happen today.
The Bolts have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two teams, including the last four. Brendan Gallagher, who played his 787th game wearing the Sainte-Flanelle yesterday, the 23rd most of all-time, is the most productive Canadiens player against today's opponent with 16 points in 34 games. He's followed by Nick Suzuki who has 12 points in 15 games and Finnish sniper Patrik Laine who has 10 points in 17 match ups.
Meanwhile, one of the biggest thorns in the Canadiens' side Stamkos has left Florida (he had 50 points in 51 duels) but Victor Hedman and his 49 points in 48 games are still there. Just like Nikita Kucherov and his 42 points in 36 games and Brayden Point who has so far picked up 22 points in 26 duels.
With a goal in yesterday's game, Jake Evans is now running a five-game point streak, picking up seven points (four goals and three assists) over that span, it will be interesting to see if he can keep this going. It feels like every game he plays increases his value on the trade market or his price tag for a contract extension.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens