Canadiens Pre Game
Canadiens Game 6: Lines, Notes & What to Watch vs. Stars
The Montreal Canadiens are looking to make it three wins in a row tonight, as they face the potent Dallas Stars. The Canadiens (3-2-0) host the Stars (3-0-1) Saturday night at the Bell Centre in what will likely be their toughest test yet. The Canadiens’ lineup figures to be the same as the last two games, a lineup which thumped the Arizona Coyotes 6-2 on Thursday night.
The puck drops just after 7 p.m.
After failing to score more than a goal per game in their back-to-back games against the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals, the Canadiens’ offence has come to life this week, with nine goals in their last two games.
Head coach Martin St. Louis has been pleased with the effort as of late, contributing the rapid success of the club’s talented youngsters to getting back to having fun on the ice.
As an organization, as we deal with players, we’re very process-focused, but the result is important for the confidence of the group as a team. Winning has to be part of the process,” said St. Louis when juxtaposing development with winning.
https://montreal.nationalhockeynow.com/2022/10/20/slafkovsky-scores-xhekaj-smashes-in-montreal-canadiens-6-2-win/
Unfortunately, Juraj Slafkovsky, who scored his first NHL goal in the Canadiens’ last tilt against the Coyotes, suffered an upper-body injury that will keep him out of the lineup on a day-to-day basis. Rem Pitlick, who has been a healthy scratch for the last few games, will draw in on the fourth line in his place.
Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki continue to lead the team in scoring, just as they have since St. Louis took over as coach. Caufield is currently one of the league’s most efficient goal scorers, notching four goals in just five games.
Potent Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars have jumped right out of the gate to be one of the more impactful teams in this young season, and a lot of that has to do with the return to health of Tyler Seguin. The veetran centre has tallied five points in the club’s four games and has alleviated much of the offensive pressure off of Roope Hintz and Joe Pavelski, helping to better balance their offensive lines.
Miro Hesikanen continued to look like a top defenceman in this league so far this season, notching two goals and an assists so far, while logging almost 25 minutes of ice time per game for the Stars.
Goaltender Jake Oettinger has seemingly pick up right where he left off last season, posting a an average goals against of 1 and a 0.966 save percentage. The 23-year old has looked brilliant in his starts for the Stars so far and will look to continue his winning ways and attempt to stonewall the Canadiens revived offence.
Canadiens defencemen Joel Edmundson and Mike Matheson, along with forward Joel Armia, remain on IR.
Montreal Canadiens Lines
Cole Caufield | Nick Suzuki | Juraj Slafkovsky |
Alex Newhook | Kirby Dach | Patrik Laine |
Josh Anderson* | Christian Dvorak | Brendan Gallagher* |
Michael Pezzetta | Jake Evans | Joel Armia |
Rafael Harvey-Pinard* |
Lane Hutson | Mike Matheson |
Kaiden Guhle | Alex Carrier |
Arber Xhekaj | David Savard |
Jakub Dobes |
Samuel Montembeault |
Dallas Stars Lines, per Puckpedia.com:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Marchment-Seguin-Dellandrea
Benn-Johnston-Gurianov
Faksa-Glendening-Kirivanta
Defense:
Heiskanen-Miller
Suter-Hakanpaa
Lindell-Lundkvist
Goalies:
Oettinger
Wedgewood
Special Teams
[table “18” not found /]Montreal Canadiens Game Notes:
Nick Suzuki leads the Canadiens with six points in five games and will be looking to add to his totals.
Jordan Harris continues to be the unsung hero on defence for the Canadiens with excellent underlying numbers and a saprkling +5 on his record.
Both Jake Oettinger (.966) and Jake Allen (.938) have had great starts to the season. Which will come out on top?
Arber Xhekaj is going to play his game, but won’t back down from a challenge. Will we be hearing a certain DMX track by the end of the night?
How to Watch:
TV: CBC, TVA Sports, NHLN
Radio: TSN 690 – 98,5FM – 96.7 The Ticket