The Montreal Canadiens will host the New York Rangers tonight at the Bell Centre, and they'll try to avoid losing a fourth straight game.
The Montreal Canadiens have had a tough time lately, losing three games in a row to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings, and New York Islanders. As always, there have been injury issues. At the time of writing, we're unsure if Juraj Slafkovsky and Mike Matheson will be playing tonight, as they both enjoyed a treatment day yesterday.
In Slafkovsky's absence at practice yesterday, Nick Suzuki had a new winger in Kirby Dach, who has struggled so far this season. The media tried to find out if he could play there whether or not Slafkovsky was healthy, but as always, Martin St-Louis didn't know. However, he confirmed that Samuel Montembeault would return to the net to face the Rangers.
The netminder has played six games against the Rangers and has a 4-1-1 record with a 3.52 goals-against average and a .896 save percentage. On the other hand, the Rangers' uncontested number one has taken on the Canadiens five times and has a 4-1-0 record with a stingy 1.99 GAA and a .933 GAA. Backup Jonathan Quick has played the Habs 13 times and has an 8-4-1 record, alongside a 2.29 GAA and a .921 SP.
Kaiden Guhle wasn't at practice either, which suggests he will miss tonight's game, just like he missed Saturday's one against the other New York side. Logan Mailloux should benefit from an extended audition after scoring a goal in his first game.
As for Jayden Struble, he hasn't done anything to warrant taking him out of the lineup, so it's hard to see how Arber Xhekaj could be reinserted, even if the Rangers come to town with Matt Rempe. The six-foot-eight giant trained with former Montreal Canadiens' enforcer George Laracque over the Summer. Of course, the Sheriff would draw in if Mike Matheson is not ready to go.
The Rangers come to town with a near-perfect record, having won four of their first five games and only dropping a point in an overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club. The Blueshirts are first in the league in average goal scored (4.80), third in faceoff percentage (54.7%), and fourth in power play (31.3%) and penalty kill (89.5%) success rate. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are 25th in average goal scored (2.67), 24th at the faceoff dot (47.8%), 13th on the man-advantage (21.7%), and second with a man down (90.9%).
If Caufield has been on fire to start the year with six goals in as many nights, Artemi Panarin has been on fire and then some, with six goals and six assists for 12 points in five games. In net, Igor Shesterkin has only surrendered eight goals in four games, and he has a 1.97 GAA and a .935 SP. Montembeault's numbers are not as good but are still impressive, with a 2.29 GAA and a .932 SP.
Interestingly, the Canadiens' fourth-line center Christian Dvorak has got 11 points in 10 career games against the Blueshirts, including a 25% shooting rate against Shesterkin. David Savard (13) and Brendan Gallagher (12) lead the teams in points against tonight's rival, but it's because they've played against them so many times. Savard has faced them 36 times, while Gallagher has done it 26 times. Perhaps Josh Anderson could found the back of the net tonight, he's scored twice on nine shots on Shesterkin for a 28.6% shooting percentage.
On the other hand, season leader Panarin is the real Canadiens killer and not every fan's favorite Chris Kreider. In 20 games, the Breadman has 25 points, while Carey Price's Achilles heel has 17 points in 29 games. Defenseman Adam Fox also has 12 points in 11 meetings, and Mika Zibanejad must be watched closely with 24 points in 35 games.
Edit: After this morning's optional skate, St-Louis confirmed that Juraj Slafkovsky would not be available tonight, as a result, Kirby Dach will going Caufield and Suzuki on the first line while Oliver Kapanen will centre the second like flanked by Alex Newhook and Joel Armia. As a result, Michael Pezzetta will play his first game of the season, and he'll no doubt be ready if Rempe is in and looking for trouble. Mike Matheson will be in the lineup on the blueline, and so will Struble and Mailloux, meaning Xhekaj will skip another turn.
The game is set for 7:15 PM tonight and will be the Canadiens' only game this week. Fans must wait for the weekend to get another installment of Habs hockey.
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