Montreal Canadiens Look To Continue Strong Road Play vs Winnipeg Jets
The Montreal Canadiens head into Winnipeg tonight to take on the Jets in their final game before the Christmas break. They will be trying to continue their strong road play to earn two points.
The Montreal Canadiens have been a difficult team to figure out this season. It seems when you expect them to win a game, they find a way to lose that one. When you think they are in tough and don’t have much of a chance, they all pull together and take out one of the league’s best teams.
We have been seeing this “phenomenon” since the start of the year. In October, the Habs twice beat the Toronto Maple Leafs who were among the favourites in the Eastern Conference heading into the campaign. They also twice beat the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. Meanwhile, they lost their home opener to the Detroit Red Wings who might be the worst team in the salary cap era. They also lost to the Minnesota Wild and San Jose Sharks who had awful first months of the season.
It didn’t really change in November as the first half of the month saw the Habs defeat the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals who are the top two teams in the conference. Then, they found a way to lose to the Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils who are all outside the postseason picture.
More from Editorials
- Montreal Canadiens: Senators Rebuild At Crisis Point As Kent Hughes Moves Forward
- Montreal Canadiens: Jonathan Drouin Continues Charity Work In Montreal After Leaving Habs
- Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Lineup Going To Be Must Watch
- Montreal Canadiens: Jesse Ylönen Contract Extension Analysis
- Montreal Canadiens: Top 31 Prospects – #31 Quentin Miller
The same thing continues to happen through December. A game against the tough, stingy New York Islanders? No problem, the Habs score four against the best defensive team in the league an win 4-2. A tough road game against the Pittsburgh Penguins who are playing well despite injuries? Piece of cake. Habs win 4-1. A big road game in Calgary against the Flames where you fall behind 2-0? No big deal, Habs win 4-3 in overtime.
However, a home game against the worst team in the league? Can’t score on Jonathan Bernier and lose 2-1 to the Red Wings. What should be a win is often a loss and what should be a tough game often results in two points.
The same thing can be said about the Habs home and road games. Most teams, especially good teams have much better records on home ice than on the road. Just look at the Habs last season. They had 96 points but narrowly missed the playoffs. Can’t blame their record at the Bell Center which was 25-12-4. Their road record however was just 19-18-4.
This season is entirely different as the Habs constantly defy expectations every night. Their home record is just 8-8-3. The only teams in the Eastern Conference with worse home records are the Red Wings and Devils who are at the bottom of the standings. On the road however, the Canadiens are a strong 9-5-3.
It is the best road record in the Atlantic Division, even better than the Boston Bruins who are channeling for a President’s Trophy thanks to their 12-1-8 record at home.
The Canadiens will look to continue these odd trends tonight when they face the Jets in Winnipeg. The Jets are in a playoff seed at the moment and have a solid record at home. This means they will be the betting favourite in tonight’s game but since it is opposite year for the Habs, I would expect nothing less than a dominant victory where they fire close to 50 shots on goals and win by three.
This is the fourth game of the Canadiens longest road trip of the season. They get a break because of Christmas, but will play seven straight away from the Bell Center. That’s normally a bad thing for a team but this version of the Canadiens could turn it into five or six victories. They are already 2-1, beating the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames who have both been playing well lately and then of course they lost to the Edmonton Oilers who are in bit of a skid.
Next. How Domi Is Impacting His Next Contract. dark
Expect the unexpected from this Habs team, I suppose. Luckily, they have a tough schedule coming up after the break, which means they are just about to go on a huge winning streak. Of course, now that I’m expecting them to continue this trend, they will likely go off script once again.