After losing their last two games and being outscored 12-4 in that span, the Montreal Canadiens will need a big performance to beat the Winnipeg Jets.
After surviving a tough November month, it looked like the Montreal Canadiens were back to their October form as they managed to put together a three-game winning streak, but their last two games say otherwise. Martin St-Louis’ men suffered crushing defeats against the Colorado Avalanche and the Ottawa Senators and now find themselves in yet another losing streak.
On Wednesday night, the Habs will have an opportunity to bounce back when they take on the Winnipeg Jets. The Manitoba outfit currently sits outside of the playoff picture in the Western Conference. To make matters worse, the Jets are also without their ace goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck, who recently underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and is therefore sidelined for four to six weeks. On Monday night, Scott Arniel’s men fell 5-1 to the ever-struggling Buffalo Sabres, an outcome nobody would have put money on.
Before puck drop, the Canadiens are set to honour blueliner Andrei Markov, and the organization will be hoping for a different result than last season, when it honoured its dynasty team from the 70s. That night, after a beautiful tribute, the team fell 7-2 to the New York Rangers.
The Tricolore and the Jets have had eerily similar seasons so far. Both teams posted 8-3-0 records in October and suffered eight losses in November. The Habs did manage to get more points than the visitor in November, thanks to three of their defeats coming in overtime or a shootout.
While it hasn’t been officially confirmed, Jakub Dobes should be back in the net for the Habs since Samuel Montembeault was on duty on Tuesday night against the Ottawa Senators. The Czech rookie netminder has never faced the Jets, while Montembeault has a 1-4-1 record, with a 3.47 goals-against average and a .881 save percentage.
As for the Jets, without Hellebuyck, they’ve had to rely on Eric Comrie and Thomas Milic. The former has a 0-2-1 record against Montreal with a 2.98 GAA and a .912 SV, while the latter, a 22-year-old rookie, has never played against the Habs. He’s only played two NHL games so far, and he's been involved in a single decision, which he lost. He currently has a 3.65 GAA and a .882 SV. Comrie’s season record isn’t great either; he’s 5-5-0 with a 3.13 GAA and a .893 SV.
Up front, the Canadiens will want to keep a close eye on Kyle Connor. The left winger, who signed an 8-year contract extension that will see him earn $12 million per year from next season, loves taking on the Habs, scoring 26 points in just 22 games. Mark Scheifele is their second most productive player against Montreal with 23 points in 30 games, and he’s currently on a four-game point streak. Gustav Nyquist completes the top three with 21 points in 35 games. It’s also worth noting that veteran Jonathan Toews, who signed as a free agent this summer after sitting out the last two seasons, has 16 points in 18 games against the Sainte-Flanelle. Pivoting Winnipeg’s second line this season, he has put up nine points in 25 games.
As for Montreal, Brendan Gallagher is their most productive player against the Jets with 19 points in 28 games, followed by Nick Suzuki with 16 points in 19 games and Josh Anderson with 14 points in 23 games. Suzuki currently has a six-game point streak (four goals and five assists for nine points in that span) while Cole Caufield is on an eight-game point streak (two goals and eight assists in that span).
Tonight’s game will be the first of two duels between the two sides this season; the second tilt, in Winnipeg, is set for early February and will be the Canadiens’ last game before the Olympic break. The Jets have won six of the previous 10 duels between the two sides, including the two games played last season. The Jets have the seventh-best penalty kill in the league with an 83.9% success rate, despite being the seventh-most-punished team. The game is set for 7:30 PM, and you can catch it on RDS and Sportsnet.
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