The Montreal Canadiens are 1-1 on the road trip so far and will be looking to add another win as they take on the Calgary Flames.
It’s been two days since the Montreal Canadiens played their last game in Vancouver. That one was a little bit of a gong show filled with goals and poor defensive coverage, but the Habs managed to hang on for the win.
Calgary is going to bring out the best in Montreal, especially after how their last game went at home. The Habs rode a 2-1 one lead into the third period after goals from Daniel Carr and Phillip Danault. Unfortunately, the Flames managed to tie the game and get the eventual game-winner in overtime thanks to Sean Monahan.
Jonathan Drouin was still injured for that one, so hopefully, he can be a factor tonight. Claude Julien told media after morning skate in Calgary that recent call-up Brett Lernout and Artturi Lehkonen will not be in tonight. Lehkonen has been practicing with the team regularly but still hasn’t been cleared by the medical staff.
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When it comes to Lernout, it looks like Julien would rather stick with the lineup that won on Tuesday. However, considering that the Montreal Canadiens will be playing Saturday night, there’s a chance the 22-year-old could slot in then. It’ll also depend on whether Joe Morrow has a good performance for the team.
It’ll be about getting points from this game. The Boston Bruins are currently riding a three-game winning streak and are now seven points up on the Habs. At the same time, Montreal still has Detroit, Florida, and Ottawa riding their coattails. If there were ever a game for the team to have a sense of urgency, it would be now.
Storylines
To the Fourth Power
The line of Carr, Nicolas Deslauriers, Byron Froese, has been the Habs’ best for their last set of games. It used to be a little frustrating to see how much Julien would use them in games, but they’ve definitely deserved the extra time. Carr is the most responsible for this as Deslauriers and Froese didn’t look this good until he was called up from the Laval Rocket.
Another benefit of them playing well is that it presents a matchup problem for other teams. The shiftiness and strength from that trio could work in the Habs’ favour tonight. Of course, they can’t just rely on them to play well. All four lines have to be clicking, but if they need an example to follow, Deslauriers, Froese, and Carr will start things off.
Defence as a Whole
It’ll be another night of defence by committee without Shea Weber around. It wasn’t at it’s best on Tuesday, but that’s an area of the Habs’ game that will have to be better. Jeff Petry is most likely going to be relied upon to log the most minutes for the Montreal Canadiens, but Morrow is another defenceman on the team who needs to play with more urgency.
He had a handful of turnovers in the defensive zone were some led to scoring chances against. With Lernout in the mix now, eyes will be on Morrow. Although Julien has made him one of his projects for the season, getting a win is the most important thing.
Next: Trading Pacioretty to Calgary
What are your expectations for the game? Let us know down in the comments.