The Montreal Canadiens will be hosting the St. Louis Blues tonight at the Bell Centre and they'll try to put a stop to their losing streak.
Montreal Canadiens fans might have had the blues this week. After being reminded of the team's glorious past on Tuesday night, they were sent crashing right back down to earth when they witnessed the New York Rangers eviscerating the current edition.
Martin St-Louis and his men didn't have time to feel sorry for themselves, though. The league still keeps going, and whether you're facing injuries or struggling to get out of a funk, the opponents will try to destroy you in whichever way they can. So the coach and his players (the ones who weren't banged up) rolled up their sleeves and got back to work.
They had three days to work on the most pressing issues and spent most of their time on their defensive game. Whatever the critics say, St-Louis doesn't plan on moving on from his man-to-man defensive system, and he feels this is what the league is moving toward right now. As for the fact that there's more and more noise and grumbling in town these days, his answer was clear:
Why would I listen to a critic from somebody I would never go for advice for? I usually overcome the obstacles and the people that doubt...it fuels me. So I appreciate the market.
That, right there, is what makes St-Louis the man for the job in town. He can tune out the critics, but not before letting them motivate him.
Before practice, Justin Barron skated with Paul Byron, which was a welcome sight, but Kaiden Guhle was still nowhere to be seen. He hasn't skated since the October 17 game against the Los Angeles Kings. By the looks of it, the injury occurred when Adrian Kempe shoved him into the boards. While the Canadiens have kept schtum about the nature of the injury, given his history, it's hard not to fear a concussion or a shoulder issue.
Tonight's visitors have played eight games so far, winning five of their duels, giving them 10 points, good for 10th place in the league. Much like the Canadiens, the Blues have had to deal with injuries. They recently lost Robert Thomas to a fractured ankle, and he'll be out of commission for six weeks while veteran blueliner Nick Leddy is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
The Canadiens' coach has already confirmed that Samuel Montembeault will be in net to take on the Blues. If Jordan Binnington gets the nod for the visitors, it could be a duel between two of the most serious candidates for a roster spot in goal for Team Canada at the Four Nations Face-Off.
It will only be Montembeault's third career game against the Blues. He's had a win and a loss with a 3.47 goals-against average and a .885 SP against the Missouri outfit. As for Cayden Primeau, he's never taken them on, and we already know he'll be in net tomorrow against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Meanwhile, Binnington has played five times against the Habs and has a 2-3-0 record with a 3.85 GAA and a .872 SP, hardly a great record. The Blues' backup, Joel Hofer, has only faced the Canadiens once and won the duel by three goals and posting a .909 SP. Unlike the Habs, the Blues are not playing tomorrow, and Drew Bannister doesn't have to worry about the second part of a back-to-back.
Christian Dvorak is the Canadiens' best pointer against the Blues. He's got 16 points in 20 games, not that his record against the New York Rangers motivated him much. However, Brendan Gallagher has 15 points in just 16 games. Cole Caufield has 7 points in 6 games, including 5 goals and a 25% shooting percentage against Binnington, whom he's probably hoping to face.
Brayden Schenn is the Blues' best point producer against Montreal with 27 points in 29 games and has a 33% shooting percentage against Montembeault, while Jordan Kyrou is a point-per-game player against the Habs with 7 points in as many contests.
The game starts at 7:00 PM, and the Canadiens won't have time to catch their breath afterward. They'll be headed to Philadelphia for tomorrow's tilt with the Flyers.
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