GAME DAY PREVIEW | Montreal Canadiens vs San Jose Sharks: Preview, TV, Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Habs Tickets

A Look Back

The Canadiens played better defensively — they are discovering just how much they miss Carey Price — but continued to struggle to generate offence. The Habs are taking too many penalties and are unable to kill them off consistently. Montreal was unable to send their fans to the exits happy with a home opener win.

Last game: MTL 1  NYR 3  F

For a complete game recap: Where’s the Offence? | RECAP: NYR @ MTL

Players to Watch

• Mike Hoffman
  Hoffman is expected to make his Canadiens debut after recovering from a lower-body injury. With the Canadiens struggling at 0-for-11 with the man advantage, Dominique Ducharme will welcome Hoffman with open arms. The 31-year-old left-winger has scored 35 percent of his NHL goals on the power-play.
• Nick Suzuki
  The mantle of being a first-line centre with a $63 million contract is a large burden for a 22-year-old. Suzuki is pointless in three games, has a minus-2 rating and has been just 48.9 percent at the faceoff dot. Suzuki is critical for the success of the Habs.
• Brett Kulak
  Kulak was given an opportunity on the top pairing with Jeff Petry to determine if previous chemistry could allow the pair to flourish. Kulak has two assists in three games. Last game Kulak was back on the third pair as his Corsi for Percentage of 42.31 is second worst on the team.

Keys to Victory

• Create better PP opportunities
  The Canadiens two power-play units must create more high danger scoring chances but to do that they need to do a better job setting up in the offensive zone. Penalty-kills have been cheating towards Cole Caufield and the Habs have not adjusted.
• Be disciplined
  Montreal is also struggling short-handed. Ben Chiarot and Chris Wideman each have six minutes in penalties in just three games. Right now, the Canadiens are being called for an abundance of stick infractions and have gifted a league high 13 power-plays to the opposition.
• Win faceoffs
  Apart from Christian Dvorak, Habs centres are underwater on faceoffs. Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans are each at 48 percent in the faceoff circle while Cedric Paquette is at a paltry 27 percent. Suzuki struggles are magnified on the power-play where he is just 22 percent at the dot.

2021-22  statistics

• “Me and Hoffer are both new here, new to the organization. And Gally has been here for a long time, so… He was very good with both of us, talking us through the drills, talking us through what makes him comfortable, what he likes. Gally did a great job in just welcoming us and making sure that we felt comfortable with the drills and everything.”

Bottom Line