Montreal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils Preview, Time, TV, Stream
The Montreal Canadiens welcome the New Jersey Devils to the Bell Centre in a game where losing is not an option as they reluctantly ride a five-game slump.
It’s American Thanksgiving in the NHL, and consequently, there is only one game on the schedule. However, this is not an average game for the Montreal Canadiens. This is absolutely and without a doubt, a must-win for the Habs.
The Montreal Canadiens have lost five games in a row dating back to November 16th. It started with an overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils and continued on with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, and Boston Bruins. The most recent loss is the one that stands out the most, not just because it was two days ago, but because of how poorly the team was beaten.
It was a 1-1 hockey game after David Pastrnak and Shea Weber scored leading on to the Bruins scoring seven unanswered goals. Blame has been sent at Carey Price; however, it’s clear the team as a whole is not playing well enough to succeed. Chances are being allowed in the slot; assignments are being missed and bypassed while Price hasn’t been in his ‘Superman’ mode as of late.
Now the Montreal Canadiens have been bumped out of a playoff spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs resurging. And to make matters even direr, the Buffalo Sabres and Tampa Bay Lightning are right there as well with 26 points. What’s worse on Tampa’s end is that they have two games in hand over Montreal and have yet to reach their potential.
It’s safe to say the team needs to figure things out, and tonight is no better time to end their troubles against the team that started it all.
The Montreal Canadiens are running with a similar lineup with one alteration. Charles Hudon and Nick Cousins have switched places seeing the veteran on the third line with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Joel Armia. Carey Price is also getting the opportunity to bounce back as he gets the start, and for all intents and purposes, there are no reasons why the Habs should lose this game.
New Jersey is second-last in the Eastern Conference with 20 points and has the second-lowest goal differential in the league. Their goaltending has been abysmal with Mackenzie Blackwood sporting a .898 save percentage, and despite being close to a point-per-game, Taylor Hall (21 points in 23 games) hasn’t been enough to get the Devils going.
It’s time for the Montreal Canadiens to gain their confidence back. Parity in the NHL is as high as it’s ever been, but it’ll be really tough for the Habs to have success the rest of the season if they continue to pile loses together.