The Montreal Canadiens will be welcoming the Winnipeg Jets to the Bell Centre on a historical night for starting goaltender Carey Price.
It’s almost over. After tonight’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, the Montreal Canadiens have two games left in the regular season. What they do with them is up for debate. Do they try to finish strong starting with what looks to be a difficult match against a Stanley Cup Contender or do they cave and better their chances at the lottery. Tonight’s game may be the former of the two considering the significance it could have.
It’s more than the fact that this is the last game at the Bell Centre for the year. On Sunday night, Carey Price dressed for his 556th game for the Montreal Canadiens tying the franchise record for most games played by a goaltender previously set by Jacques Plante. If Price starts tonight, which he most likely will, he will be the sole owner of the top spot.
Fans should expect a nice tribute to the 2005 fifth overall pick who will have Donald Beauchamp behind it.
Then it’ll be on the game. The Habs have lost their last two games including a somewhat close contest to the New Jersey Devils. It was an engaging night for both teams, but a post-penalty breakaway goal by Taylor sealed it for the Devils. That night also had Daniel score his fifth goal of the season and first in 17 games. However, it would’ve been better if the team capitalized on more of their man-advantage chances.
Speaking of firsts, it was also Kerby Rychel’s debut game with the Montreal Canadiens and his first NHL game in nearly two years. The left-winger played on a line with Logan Shaw and Nikita Scherbak. Rychel brought a lot of energy to the lineup and had a nice sequence to set up Mike Reilly in the slot despite getting tripped by Keith Kinkaid
Rychel replaced Charles Hudon due to an unknown injury and it hasn’t been confirmed whether he will play against the Jets. However, even if Hudon is ready, Claude Julien should find a way to keep Rychel in the lineup.
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The Winnipeg Jets have already locked up a playoff spot but are in a tight battle with the Nashville Predators for first in the Central Division. This game against the Montreal Canadiens is the final stop of their Atlantic coast swing. With wins over the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, they’ll be looking to get the brooms out.
Defence wasn’t the top priority in last night’s game against Ottawa. The Jets got a 3-0 lead in the first thanks to Andrew Copp, Josh Morrissey, and Blake Wheeler. However, the Senators wouldn’t go away and the final score of the game was 6-5. Connor Hellebuyck did what he could stopping 32 of 37 shots last night.
Seeing as how its a back-to-back, Winnipeg is most likely to give Eric Comrie the start. The 22-year-old has played three games for the Jets this season and has a .872 save percentage to show for it. Perhaps he uses this night in Montreal to turn that around. However, there’s also the chance the Steve Mason plays who has been out for almost a month with a knee injury.
#NHLJets HC Paul Maurice said G Steve Mason came out of this morning's workout "really, really good" but wasn't ready to commit publicly to him starting vs #Habs I'd be surprised if Mason doesn't get the call, but the Jets won't hold a morning skate and avail is Tue afternoon pic.twitter.com/xTNJbyz7Br
— Ken Wiebe (@WiebesWorld) April 3, 2018
Regardless who starts, the Jets depth has done wonders for them and that’s what they’ll be relying on. Wheeler, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Mark Scheifele are just the start as you also have to worry about Patrik Laine who has 43 goals in his second full NHL season. It’ll take shutdown calibre play to keep them at bay.
There are still some individual goals to track on the Habs. Brendan Gallagher will be looking to add to his season total after hitting 50-points for the first time in his career. Alex Galchenyuk is also on the hunt for a similar point total as he’s currently sitting on 18 goals and 31 assists.
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It’s been about the growing pains in this stretch for the Montreal Canadiens. After this game, fans get a step closer to the pain being only a memory.