Canadiens Game 68: Petry & Matheson Face Off, Habs Struggling

The Montreal Canadiens (26-35-6) head to Pennsylvania on Tuesday to face the Pittsburgh Penguins (34-22-10). The puck drop is scheduled for 7:00  p.m. ET.

The Canadiens are on the second leg of back-to-back games, which usually leads to head coach Martin St-Louis keeping the same lineup as the previous outing, though a recent injury to Rem Pitlick will force a change in the lineup.

Seeing as the Canadiens travelled, they will not hold a morning skate, and will only provide updates in his pre-game media availability which usually takes place toward 5 PM ET.

St-Louis recently praised Mike Matheson, the player the Canadiens received in exchange for Jeff Petry, pointing to his puck-moving skills as a perfect example for the young defencemen on the roster.

Matheson scored his sixth goal of the year in the first leg of the back-to-back games.

Seeing as Jake Allen faced the Avalanche on Monday night, Samuel Montembeault is expected to be given the start for the Canadiens.

As for the Penguins, they’re in the midst of a resurgence, as evidenced by their 7-2-1 record in their last 10 games. Consequently, the recent uptick in points has to high probabilities the team will eventually qualify for the playoffs.

Star centre Evgeni Malkin has led the charge of late, earning eight assists in the last five games, owing to great chemistry alongside Jason Zucker, who has five goals in that stretch.

As always, the Canadiens will have to pay close attention to Sidney Crosby.

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The 35-year-old may be slowing down a little in the grand scheme of things, but he’s still among the best players in the league. The Nova Scotia native leads the Penguins with 29 goals and 51 assists in 66 games this season, and it’s always worth remembering he has 21 goals an 37 assists in 45 career games against the Canadiens.

Kris Letang is the usual suspect worth monitoring on the blueline, however, he’s followed closely by Petry, who has found his rhythm with the Penguins following an relatively long acclimatization period. Petry has five goals and 21 assists in 50 games for his new team.

Two goals in 25 seconds for Jeff Petry! 🐧 pic.twitter.com/R2Yzyz7tY1

— NHL (@NHL) March 3, 2023

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

• Joel Armia (Day-To-Day)
• 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)

Pittsburgh Penguins Injuries

• Dmitry Kulikov (Day-To-Day)
• Nick Bonino (Out)
• Ryan Poehling (Injured Reserve)
• Sam Poulin (Out)

Montreal Canadiens Previous Lineup

Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lineup

Guentzel – Crosby – Rust

Zucker – Malkin – Nylander

O’Connor – Granlund – Rakell

Heinen – Carter – Archibald

Defence:

Pettersson – Letang

Dumoulin – Petry

Kulikov – Rutta

Goalie:

Jarry

Special Teams

How to Watch Or Listen

TV:

RDS, TSN, ATTSN-PT.

Radio

Montreal Canadiens: TSN 690 – 98,5FM