Canadiens Pre Game
Canadiens Game 66: Dach & Evans Skate, Allen Starts
The Montreal Canadiens (26-33-7) will host the potent New Jersey Devils (42-16-6) on Sunday night. The puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
The Montreal Canadiens may have collected points in their last two games at home, but are still riding a five-game losing streak heading into tonight’s game.
A big reason for that is the never-ending list of injuries the Canadiens have to deal with, as Christian Dvorak and Jordan Harris were the two latest victims to be kept out of the lineup on Thursday.
The Canadiens did get a bit of good news on Thursday, as Kaiden Guhle returned from an upper-body injury and immediately imposed himself in the Habs’ tilt against the New York Rangers with a goal and an assist in the 4-3 shootout loss.
Kaiden Guhle with a beauty! 😍 pic.twitter.com/W1aTe0j6xD
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 10, 2023
Prior to practice Kirby Dach and Jake Evans took to the ice for a bit of a skate.
Both players have missed over a month of action now with lower-body injuries and are seemingly on the mend; but not yet ready to engage in full practices.
In the face of all these injuries, the Canadiens have had to call-up the entirety of the Laval Rocket’s top-six in order to ice 12 forwards on a nightly basis.
With Rafaël Harvey-Pinard starting off his call-up on fire, posting eight goals and four assists for 12 points in 21 games, it’s now been Alex Belzile’s time lately.
The 31-year-old AHL journeyman has taken advantage of the opportunity he’s been given this season; playing sound defensively, while chipping in offensively in a timely fashion.
The veteran forward has played every forward position for the Canadiens of late, all while potting three goals and an assist in his last three games.
Both Harvey-Pinard and Belzile are using this time to show general manager Kent Hughes that they deserve to be part of the plans next year; as the Canadiens are expecting some significant turnover with their forward corps.
Veteran Jake Allen, who has been stellar for the Canadiens since the All-Star break, is expected to get the start for the Canadiens tonight.
Goals in three straight? 🔥
We love to see it, Alex Belzile. pic.twitter.com/829phj02wk
— NHL (@NHL) March 10, 2023
Red-Hot Devils
The New Jersey Devils have a different feel to them as of late.
With the recent acquisition of Timo Meier from the San Jose Sharks, their offensive unit just became that much more dangerous going into the NHL Playoffs.
In the three games since he’s been acquired, Meier has only registered one goal; leading many to expect that he’ll be hungry to prove himself to his new teammates against the Canadiens.
Youngster Dawson Mercer has been their best player of late, sporting an 11-game point streak for the Devils.
The 21-year-old has posted a remarkable 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points during his current point streak and leads New Jersey in every offensive category.
His rise to prominence has been a huge development for the Devils, who now have yet another dangerous offensive weapon to join the ranks of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier.
Your pre-game analysis below:
Montreal Canadiens Injuries
- Chris Wideman (Week-To-Week)
- Joel Armia (Day-To-Day)
- Justin Barron (Injured)
- Christian Dvorak (Injured)
- Jordan Harris (Day-To-Day)
- Kirby Dach (Out Indefinitely)
- Brendan Gallagher (Injured Reserve)
- Jake Evans (Injured Reserve)
- Arber Xhekaj (Injured Reserve)
- Juraj Slafkovsky (Injured Reserve)
- Cole Caufield (Injured Reserve)
- Sean Monahan (LTIR)
- Carey Price (LTIR)
- Paul Byron (LTIR)
New Jersey Devils Injuries
- Jonatha Benier (Injured Reserve)
- Mackenzie Blackwood (Injured Reserve)
Montreal Canadiens Previous Lineup
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Rafaël Harvey-Pinard | Nick Suzuki | Kirby Dach |
| Denis Gurianov | Jonathan Drouin | Josh Anderson |
| Mike Hoffman | Alex Belzile | Brendan Gallagher |
| Micheal Pezzetta | Chris Tierney | Rem Pitlick |
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Mike Matheson | David Savard |
| Joel Edmundson | Justin Barron |
| Chris Wideman | Johnathan Kovacevic |
| Goalie |
|---|
| Samuel Montembeault |
| Jake Allen |
New Jersey Devils Projected Lineup
Tatar-Hischier-Mercer
Meier-Hughes-Boqvist
Palat-Haula-Bratt
Wood-McLeod-Bastian
Defence:
Siegenthaler-Hamilton
Graves-Marino
Smith-Severson
Goalies:
Vanecek
Schmid
Special Teams
| Team | PP % | PK % |
|---|---|---|
| Montreal Canadiens | 16.3% (30th) | 72.5% (30th) |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 25.5% (2nd) | 79.8% (15th) |
How to Watch Or Listen
TV
TVA Sports, Sportsnet, MSGSN, MSGSN2
Radio
Montreal Canadiens: TSN 690 – 98,5FM
Canadiens Tank Watch: Habs Get Help, Remain In Bottom Five
Canadiens Practice Notes: Good & Bad News On Injury Front
Canadiens Prospect Power Rankings: Hutson’s Magical Season
Habs Daily: Rookie D-Men Shining, AHL Playoffs, Dach’s Impact
Dach Immediately Makes Impact in Canadiens Win Over Lightning
Canadiens Practice Notes: Drouin Disciplined By St-Louis
Canadiens Tank Tracker: Habs Creating Separation In Standings
Canadiens Call-Ups To Force Kent Hughes’ Hand In Offseason
Canadiens Prospect Watch: Hutson Makes History, Roy On Fire
I think Tataaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr! deserves some cred too. He’s on pace for just under 50 points this season and he’s a +37!!! Send a little love his way too. Who didn’t love Tartar Sauce? ♥️
Perhaps another guy who should have been re-signed when he was a UFA, and not let go. Would rather have kept Sauce and not traded for Anderson. In essence, I’d rather have Sauce over Anderson…makes $1M less per season and puts up the same or slightly better pt production.
Probably would have helped Gallagher have better numbers the past couple of years too. But if it’s an either/or situation, I’d be taking Anderson over Tatar. I love Tataaaaarrrrr! too, but we already have players similar to him. Anderson is a different beast.
Nice to see Dach is back to skating…so he must be over that mysterious illness/injury. Now just needs to get his legs back under him. So maybe next week he’s back?