After a tough trip in California, the Montreal Canadiens will be taking on the New Jersey Devils one last time this season on Saturday afternoon.
As is always the case for Super Bowl weekend, the Montreal Canadiens will hold a family weekend at the Bell Centre. On Saturday, they'll be hosting the New Jersey Devils for one last time this season. So far, there have been two duels between the two teams, and the Garden State outfit won both—the first one 5-3 and the second one 4-3 in overtime.
New Jersey is currently third in the Metropolitan Division with 66 points, five points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings, holding the second wild card spot and having two games in hand on New Jersey.
The Devils have a 4-5-1 record in their last 10 games and have lost their previous match. Meanwhile, the Canadiens have a 3-6-1 record and lost their last match. The bad news for fans attending the Bell Centre on Saturday afternoon is the Devils have won their last nine games in Montreal, the longest road win steak by one franchise in Montreal in NHL history. A 10th straight triumph would make New Jersey the 13th franchise in league history to hold a double-digit road win streak against a single opponent. Funnily enough, the Canadiens hold the all-time record in that regard with an 18-game win streak against those same Devils (Scouts/Rockies) franchise from Feb. 25, 1976, to Feb. 25, 1984.
Samuel Montembeault will be in the net today against the Devils. The Habs' number one has a 3-1-1 record against them, a 2.58 goals-against average, and a .917 save percentage. As for Dobes, he was in the net during the last game between the two sides and will be manning the net on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Devils' top goaltender, Jacob Markstrom, is still on the injured reserved list, meaning that one of Jake Allen or Nico Daws will face the Canadiens. Allen was in the net for the last duel and has a 4-5-0 record against his former team, with a 3.23 GAA and a .883 SP. As for Daws, he's 2-1 with a 2.68 GAA and a .901 SP.
The Canadiens' top scorer against New Jersey is defenseman Mike Matheson with 20 points in 30 games, followed by Brendan Gallagher, who has 13 in 29 duels, and Patrik Laine wraps up the top three with 10 points in 15 games. If one player could use a good game, it's the big Finn, who has been struggling lately. Captain Nick Suzuki had three points in the January loss and has 10 in 14 games.
As for the Devils, Ondrej Palat has been dominant against the Habs in his career with 23 points in 34 games, followed by defenseman Dougie Hamilton, who's notched 20 points in 30 tilts, and Jack Hughes rounds up the top three with 17 points in just 11 games. The Habs should also keep a close eye on Jasper Bratt, who had two points in the last game and 18 in 19 games.
Saturday's game is the Canadiens' second-to-last before the 4 Nations Face-Off, and considering how much they've struggled of late, the rest cannot come soon enough.
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