The Montreal Canadiens continue their three-game road trip tonight against the Dallas Stars. Here is everything you need to know about tonight’s contest.
The Montreal Canadiens continue their three game road trip through the western United States. This will be their third game in four days. The Habs are off to a perfect start to this trip. They took down the Arizona Coyotes 4-1 on Wednesday night, and followed that up with a thrilling come from behind victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Habs fell behind 4-2 midway through the third period and playing the second game in back-to-back nights it appeared unlikely they could pull out a win. However, late goals from Tomas Tatar and Brendan Gallagher tied things up and Max Domi sniped on a partial breakaway in overtime to give the Canadiens two points in the standings.
Now, they have a chance to close out this quick three game road trip with a perfect record. Though the Habs could be tired from a tough week of games and playing for the third time in four nights, the Stars were in action last night on the road in Colorado while the Habs rested up in Dallas in preparation for tonight’s game.
The Stars won that game which gives them five wins in their last six games after a tough start. They were just 1-7-1 after the first nine games of the season but evidently have figured things out.
The Stars still need to figure out how to put the puck in the net more frequently. Their 2.2 goals per game is last in the entire league and their 9.5% success rate on the power play is 28th out of 31 NHL teams.
Montreal’s Achilles heel has been the penalty kill, s hopefully they can shut down the struggling Stars power play. They will also have to shut down Roope Hintz who is off to a great start to the season. The Stars may be struggling to score, but Hintz is not. He has nine goals and ten points in 15 games.
The Stars also have a familiar face in their lineup. Alex Radulov had a strong 2016-17 season with the Habs but chose to sign with the Stars in free agency following that season. He has been great for Dallas since then and is off to a decent start this year. He has four goals and eight points in 15 games.
Carey Price should return to the net tonight after giving way to Keith Kinkaid against the Golden Knights. Jesperi Kotkaniemi missed that game and was not at the morning skate today. It appears the lines will stay the same, meaning Nick Suzuki will play centre on the third line once again.