Montreal Canadiens: Four points to focus on ahead of the Lightning game

The Montreal Canadiens had a big win Saturday, and for them to have success over the Tampa Bay Lightning, they’ll need to keep these four things in mind.

The Montreal Canadiens put six goals on the board from six different players against the St. Louis Blues Saturday night. Tonight marks the beginning of a new week for the club where they’ll need to start putting some more wins together to up their rank in the standings.

Tampa Bay has been an NHL powerhouse for years – and on paper, they still are – but they’ve been slipping and sliding all year. Losing to the Ottawa Senators is a clear example of their efforts, and that frustration could lead to more dark times or a very motivated group. That said, there are four things for the Habs to keep in mind heading into the match, which could make or break their performance.

1. The Big Three

Jon Cooper had Steven Stamkos on his own line with Yanni Gourde and Ondrej Palat for the majority of the season but chose to go for a full-frontal attack this year. There’s nothing scarier than seeing a line breakdown with Brayden Point down the middle while Stamkos and reigning Art Ross winner Nikita Kucherov on the wing.

Stamkos and Kucherov are in a three-way lead in team scoring with six points potting in three goals and three assists apiece. Point, on the other hand, recently made his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs, scoring two goals and adding an assist.

That line has to be priority number one and don’t let what happened in Ottawa fool anyone. Those three can and will make any team pay for a defensive miscue, ask the Toronto Maple Leafs how their 7-3 loss to them went.

2. Drouin’s Point Streak

Jonathan Drouin has been on a heater since the puck first dropped on October 3rd. The 23-year-old has pants in every game since for a total of two goals and four assists in five games. According to the Montreal Canadiens NHL site, one more point would make him the first Habs player since Andrei Markov to start the season with a six-game point streak.

Confidence has been the biggest hole in Drouin’s game for years, and it’s great to see him get his edge back. Hitting that milestone against his former team will make it even sweeter.

3. Tampa’s PK

When you think of the Lightning, you think offence. Their powerplay is ninth in the NHL at 26.7%; however, their penalty kill is 24th at 72.2%. The Habs aren’t in a position to poke fun with their 64.7% success rate, but this does open a window for the man-advantage to get going. This is Andrei Vasilevskiy you’re dealing with, so the speed is going to be everything if Montreal hope of converting

4. SergaKirk

I mentioned earlier that Stamkos and Kucherov are in a three-way tie for the lead in scoring. Well, the third is Mikhail Sergachev. In no way is this to shine a light on the Drouin for Sergachev trade as his decision-making along the blueline has been paying off (so has playing with Victor Hedman at times).

The surprise of the season so far is definitely Kevin Shattenkirk. The New York Rangers bought out the final year of his contract leading him to sign a one-year $1.75 million deal. It’s safe to say the leap of faith has paid off as Shattenkirk has three goals and a total of four points.

His skating and shot are still dangerous in the NHL, and he has the quick thinking to jump up in the play if possible to score.

The Montreal Canadiens don’t want to get into a shootout here. Tampa is one of the most dangerous teams to run and around with, given the number of weapons they can have on the ice simultaneously. Locking things down, especially the top line will make the difference. And if that’s the case, the team may have to rely on their depth to get the job done out there offensively.