Canadiens Game 71: Former Hab Drouin Thriving In Colorado

The Montreal Canadiens (26-32-12) are set to face the Colorado Avalanche (46-20-5) at Ball Arena. The puck drop is scheduled for 9 pm ET.

The Habs are coming off a win versus the Seattle Kraken that featured goals from Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook, Mike Matheson, and Kaiden Guhle.

But the story of the game was the play of young netminder Cayden Primeau. He made over 10 high-danger saves and was the main reason why the Habs managed to win the game despite being outshot and outchanced by a wide margin.

It goes to show how important it is for goaltenders to have a stable situation. Ever since he’s received more starts following the trade that sent Jake Allen to the New Jersey Devils, Primeau has looked much calmer every time he takes to the ice.

Up front, Juraj Slafkovsky extended his point to seven games, yet another example of the youngest player in the lineup finding his ryhthm slowly, but surely.

MUST READ: Montreal Canadiens Top Forwards Since All-Star Break

As for the Avalanche, they’re enjoying a great season from former Hab Jonathan Drouin. The winger had a three-point game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, leading the charge in their impressive comeback win.

He also has eight points in the last four games, which pushed his season totals to 14 goals and 32 assists in 68 games.

Of course, we won’t pretend Drouin was a dominant presence when he played for the Habs, but it’s always good to see a former player find his rhythm after he struggled for a few seasons. In addition, Drouin was honest and open about how the situation impacted his mental health, which doesn’t have anything to do with the recent on-ice results, but it is an important topic that we need to address in our modern society.

For the view from the other side of the rink, make sure to visit our sister site Colorado Hockey Now.

Montreal Canadiens Injuries

• Carey Price (IR)
• Chris Wideman (IR)
• Kirby Dach (out indefinitely, ACL/MCL)
• Christian Dvorak (out indefinitely)
• Joshua Roy (4-6 weeks)

Colorado Avalanche Injuries

• Logan O’Connor (out)
• Maros Jedlicka (out)
• Oskar Olausson (out)
• Gabriel Landeskog (IR)
• Pavel Francouz (IR)

Montreal Canadiens Projected Lineup

Colorado Avalanche Projected Lineup

Nichushkin – Mackinnon – Rantanen

Lehkonen – Mittelstadt – Drouin

Wood – Colton – Parise

Duhaime – Trenin – Cogliano

Defence

Toews – Makar

Girard – Manson

Johnson – Walker

Goalie

Georgiev

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