The Montreal Canadiens have already played the Pittsburgh Penguins twice this season and both times, Sidney Crosby’s team came out on top. This time may be different though as the Habs have tidied up their defensive play since then and can now count on Patrik Laine to give a spark to their power play. While both he and Mike Matheson missed practice yesterday, they should both be playing tonight.
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The big Finn has three goals and four points in his first four games with Montreal, which has helped him take the city by storm. In 14 career games against the Penguins, Laine has only got eight points though. Brendan Gallagher is the Canadiens’ top points producer against the Pennsylvania outfit, he has 15 points in 30 games.
The Habs have only got three other players who have hit double digits in their careers against the Pens; Nick Suzuki (10 points in 14 games), Matheson (10 points in 18 games) and Josh Anderson (10 points in 25 games). Suzuki and Lane Hutson will both be trying to extend their seven-game point streak, for the blueliner, each supplemental game will improve his franchise record for the longest point-streak for a rookie defenseman.
As for the Penguins, unsurprisingly, it’s Crosby that leads the charge with 66 points in 51 games, including a pair of goals in his last game against the Habs (a 3-1 Pittsburgh win in early November). Evgeny Malkin is not far behind with 64 points in 51 games, followed by Erik Karlsson with 42 points in 51 games.
The two sides have got eerily similar records in their last 10 games, they are both 5-4-1 but the Canadiens won their last game while the Penguins lost theirs, a 6-2 hammering at home.
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Tristan Jarry has taken on the Canadiens 10 times in his career and he has a 7-1-1 record with a 2.56 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage, he was on duty when the Pens beat Montreal 6-3 in the third game of the season. As for Alex Nedeljkovic, he has only faced the Habs six times but has spectacular stats. He’s 3-1-1 with a 1.74 GAA and a .947 SP and was in net for the November meeting.
We already know Samuel Montembeault will finish this homestand as he started it, in net. He has faced the Penguins six times and has a 2-2-1 record, with a 3.16 GAA and a .897 SP. As for Cayden Primeau, he has only taken them on twice, losing both decisions and has a 4.84 GAA and a .860 SP.
The Penguins have won the last five games against their host and six of the last 10 duels. Pittsburgh is currently seventh in the Metropolitan division but still sit only two points out of a playoffs spot. Meanwhile, the Canadiens are dead last in both their division and the east, five points out of a playoffs spot.
A good start is pivotal for Montreal, when the Habs score the first goal, they are 10-3-0 while they are 1-11-3 when they surrender the first goal.
Tomorrow, the Canadiens will be practicing at 11:00 in Brossard before travelling to Winnipeg for a short one-game road trip against the powerful Jets.
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