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Canadiens: Three Keys to Tonight’s Game Versus Calgary

By Ryan Praught |
MONTREAL, CANADA - DECEMBER 12: Josh Anderson #17 of the Montreal Canadiens skates the puck against Andrew Mangiapane #88 of the Calgary Flames during the third period at Centre Bell on December 12, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Calgary Flames 2-1 in a shootout. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, CANADA - DECEMBER 12: Josh Anderson #17 of the Montreal Canadiens skates the puck against Andrew Mangiapane #88 of the Calgary Flames during the third period at Centre Bell on December 12, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Calgary Flames 2-1 in a shootout. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
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The Canadiens are hosting another Pacific Division opponent on Tuesday after falling to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday. The Calgary Flames will visit the Bell Centre for their first of two matchups with Montreal this season. The Flames enter tonight at a disappointing 4-8-2, and will be looking to right the ship against a Canadiens squad playing their third game in four nights.

The Canadiens sit at 7-5-2 on the season, sixth in the Atlantic Division. They’re 0-1-1 against the Pacific Division this season, losing to Vancouver on Sunday and to the Golden Knights back in late October. The Habs are 2-4-1 in their last seven, so they definitely want to find a way to right the ship here against the Flames.

Jesse Ylönen and Gustav Lindström will both draw into the lineup in favour of Michael Pezzetta and Jordan Harris. And Samuel Montembeault will start in goal for the Canadiens, having won his last contest Saturday night versus the Bruins. Montembeault is 3-2-1 with a .905 sv% and a 2.89 GAA so far this season.

So, how can the Canadiens get success tonight versus the Flames? Obviously, there is no guarantee, but there are things that will be important to the Canadiens success that needs to occur. Here are three keys to victory tonight for the Canadiens.

MONTREAL, CANADA – SEPTEMBER 29: Josh Anderson #17 of the Montreal Canadiens skates after celebrating his goal during the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a pre-season game at the Bell Centre on September 29, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, CANADA – SEPTEMBER 29: Josh Anderson #17 of the Montreal Canadiens skates after celebrating his goal during the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a pre-season game at the Bell Centre on September 29, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens 2-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

Josh Anderson and Juraj Slafkovsky have one goal combined between the two of them through 15 games this season. It goes without saying that this is not good enough. Both are playing in the top six, both are on the PP (albeit Slafkovsky is on unit two), and both have expectations of being better than this. We need to see it.

Slafkovsky is coming off perhaps his best game of the year despite not registering a point. Tonight will be an excellent test to see if he can build on it. The rookie has just two points this year, and while production isn’t the be-all end-all, it’s a part of the equation. Hopefully, he can get going here soon enough.

As for Anderson, the expectation is he can score 20 goals a season for the Canadiens. So, only having one so far this season is just not acceptable. The Canadiens need more from him; they’re paying him too much money, not too.

If both of these guys can get going, it will go a long way from the Canadiens both tonight and moving forward. For Anderson in particular, you feel like he’s close to scoring one, and being the streaky scorer that he is, you feel like the floodgates will just open after that.

MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 12: Mike Matheson #8 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammates on the bench during the third period against the Vancouver Canucks at the Bell Centre on November 12, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, CANADA – NOVEMBER 12: Mike Matheson #8 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his goal with teammates on the bench during the third period against the Vancouver Canucks at the Bell Centre on November 12, 2023 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Vancouver Canucks defeated the Montreal Canadiens 5-2. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /

The Canadiens have scored the first goal just six times in 15 games this season. Their record in those six games is 4-1-1. This includes both of Montreal’s wins in regulation this season. In the nine games in which the Canadiens don’t score first, they’re 3-5-1.

Clearly, it’s in the Canadiens best interest to score the first goal of the game. Getting off to fast starts has been something Martin St. Louis has wanted out of the Canadiens, and you can see why. It’s a lot harder to play from behind in the NHL, and the Habs have found that out the hard way.

Against Tampa Bay a week ago, they gave up the first four goals of the game; they’re hoping to avoid anything like that a week later. With Calgary struggling the way they have been, you want to get ahead of them early, maybe rattle them a little and play with a lead, something the Canadiens haven’t been able to do a lot of this season.

Calgary has four wins this season, two of which came when they scored first and two when they allowed the first goal. Even then, you know they will want to get ahead in this one and silence the crowd. It’s in the Habs best interest to not let that happen.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 30: The Montreal Canadiens celebrate a third-period goal by Nick Suzuki #14 against Adin Hill #33 of the Vegas Golden Knights during their game at T-Mobile Arena on October 30, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Canadiens 3-2 in a shootout. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 30: The Montreal Canadiens celebrate a third-period goal by Nick Suzuki #14 against Adin Hill #33 of the Vegas Golden Knights during their game at T-Mobile Arena on October 30, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Golden Knights defeated the Canadiens 3-2 in a shootout. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Well, hell must have frozen over because that’s the only explanation I can think of as to why the notoriously anemic Canadiens’ power play is currently carrying the offence. Since the beginning of November, the Habs have played in six games and have seven powerplay goals during that time, good enough for a three-way tie for second most in the NHL.

They have just 8 goals at five-on-five and a GF% of 36.36%, which ranks 30th in the NHL, ahead of the Anaheim Ducks and the group of men in San Jose pretending to be an NHL team (that’s the only possible explanation as to why the Sharks are as bad as they are). The bottom line is that’s not good enough, and it’s only made worse due to the stark turnaround from October.

The Canadiens had the league’s best GF% at five-on-five during October at an insane 69.57%. I didn’t expect the Canadiens to maintain such a stat, but I didn’t foresee such a drop-off either. It’s a tad bit concerning, especially when your best goal scorer, Cole Caufield, has just one tally at five-on-five this season. He led the team with 17 goals at five-on-five last year in just 46 games. They really need to figure out how to fix this.

It’s not overly surprising that the Canadiens are struggling on offence, but this is an extreme that needs to be corrected. Only five Habs players have multiple goals at five-on-five this season, with Brendan Gallagher leading the way with four. Tonight versus the Flames, a team with a 40.68% GF% on the season at five-on-five (30th in the NHL), is an excellent opportunity to right the ship. I’d say it’s a must, as the Flames do sport a great PK unit so far this season (87.0%, 5th in the NHL).

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