The Montreal Canadiens will get back to work tonight when they take on the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place. While the Habs have been firing on all cylinders since the 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Oilers have been struggling mightily. Montreal has five wins in a row, while Edmonton has lost five of its last six games.
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Since the Canadiens stole a game against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday, GM Kent Hughes gave his team a vote of confidence. Instead of moving Jake Evans, his most coveted asset ahead of the trade deadline, he signed a four-year contract extension with the veteran center.
Captain Nick Suzuki had asked Hughes not to rip the team apart, and it seems that request, and the fact the Canadiens are in the mix for a playoffs spot, did the trick. Gone are the days of automatically being sellers at the deadline, but it’s time for the players to show the world that Hughes was right to believe in them.
The two teams faced each other back in November, and the Canadiens came out on top 3-0, with Samuel Montembeault getting the shutout. Thursday night’s clash will be the season’s final meeting between the two sides.
There’s no word yet on who will be between the pipes for the Canadiens on Thursday night, but in a slump or not, it’s always a tough assignment for a goaltender to take on the Oilers’ double-headed monster. Montembeault has a 2-2-2 record against them, with a 2.62 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage, while Jakub Dobes has never faced them. Martin St-Louis did throw the rookie goalie in a few tough matches early on, but I think he may stick with his number one here.
Meanwhile, Stuart Skinner will be taking on the Canadiens. The Oilers’ number one netminder has a 3-1-0 record with a 2.99 GAA and a .891 SP against the Habs. The masked man is 20-15-4 this season with a 2.87 GAA and a .897 SP. On some teams, that wouldn’t be good enough, but it can work when you’re backstopping an attack that has already scored close to 200 goals this season.
Up front, the Canadiens’ most productive player against Edmonton is Suzuki, with 15 points in 18 games, closely followed by hometown boy Brendan Gallagher, with 14 points in 22 meetings. Patrik Laine rounds up the top three with 10 points in 13 duels. The last time the two teams faced off, the man of the hour, Jake Evans, had two points. A repeat performance would be a great way to celebrate his new contract.
Unsurprisingly, the Oilers’ most prolific players facing Montreal are Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. The former has 33 points in 27 games, while the latter has 32 in 26. Former Toronto Maple Leafs Zach Hyman rounds up the top three with 24 points in 26 games.
Edmonton has won six of the last ten duels between the two teams, but they shouldn’t expect an easy ride against Montreal tonight. The game is set for 9:00 PM Eastern time, and the Canadiens will then head to Calgary for a Saturday night tilt with the Flames. The question is, will all players make it there with the trade deadline looming? Watch this space…
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