LEXINGTON, KY — This upcoming week the Canadiens are back from the All-Star break and have a full schedule, with four games. Last Saturday, Carey Price and Jiri Sekac helped Team Foligno win the All-Star skills competition and Price stopped 12 of the 16 shots he faced in the All-Star Game on Sunday. Montreal will start their week Tuesday, hosting the Dallas Stars.
Calendar: January 26 – February 1
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Montreal Canadiens
The Habs (29-13-3) are coming off a couple days rest following their 2-1 win last Tuesday against Nashville. Montreal plays Dallas at home then heads to New York to play the Rangers, then back home to face Washington and Arizona. The Canadiens have dropped to third in the Atlantic Division and eighth in the league with 61 points. They are 7-2-1 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
Alex Galchenyuk. Galchenyuk has a goal in each of his last two games as well as the assist to Subban’s overtime goal to beat Nashville last week. He has also tied his previous season’s 31 points, just halfway through the season.
Andrei Markov. Markov has been a big factor for Montreal’s offence lately, assisting seven goals in his last five games.
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Montreal has risen to fourth in the league for goals against with an average of 2.33.
The Habs still struggle to score, leaving a lot of pressure to win on Price. The team average is 2.62 goals per game (21st), but the average drops even more while on the road to just 48 goals in 23 away games (29th.)
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Tuesday
Dallas Stars
The Stars (21-18-7) last game was a 3-1 loss against Boston last Tuesday. They start their week Tuesday at Montreal. Dallas is in sixth place in the Central Division and 20th in the league with 49 points. They are 4-4-2 in their last ten games.
Players to Watch
Jason Spezza. The former Senators captain has five points in his last four games. Spezza has always been more of a setup man than a goal scorer so it’ll be important for the Habs to stay in his passing lanes.
Tyler Seguin. Seguin is having a huge offensive year in Dallas and still first in the league with 28 goals, adding two in his last three games.
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
With big offensive performances from players like Seguin and Jamie Benn, Dallas is fourth in the league with an average of 3.09 goals per game.
Dallas has no problem scoring but they do lack the ability the keep the puck out of their own net, allowing 3.26 goals a game (27th). The Stars also struggle on the power-play with just a 15.0 per cent conversion with a man advantage.
The Rangers (27-13-4) last game was a 2-3 win against Ottawa last Tuesday. They start their week against the Islanders before playing Montreal Thursday. The Rangers are in third place in the Metropolitan Division and 11th in the league with 58 points. They are 8-2-0 in their last ten games.
Players to Watch
Martin St. Louis. The Laval, Quebec native has four assists in his last three games and had a goal and an assist when the Rangers played Montreal in November.
Derek Stepan. Stepan has 32 points this season, totalling five in his last three games.
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Led by goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, the Rangers are tough to score on, enjoying a 2.32 goals against average (3rd).
New York does a lot of things well but one area they struggle at is winning faceoffs, with a win percentage of 46.6 (29th).
The Capitals (24-13-9) last game was a 5-4 overtime loss against Edmonton last Tuesday. Washington will play Pittsburgh Wednesday before heading to Montreal Saturday. The Caps are in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division and 13th in the league with 57 points. They are 6-2-2 in their last ten games.
Players to Watch
Nicklas Backstrom. Backstrom has two goals in his last two games and 32 assists this season (5th).
Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin has five goals in his last three games and 27 goals this season (3rd). The first overall pick of the 2004 draft also has 12 power-play goals this year (1st).
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Washington has a lot of offensive players and their power-play, at 24.4 per cent (3rd), gives them quite the advantage.
While the Capitals’ power-play is tough to stop, their penalty-kill is slacking at 79.5 per cent.
The Coyotes (16-25-5) last game was a 6-1 loss against Chicago last Tuesday. They will play Ottawa Saturday then Montreal Sunday. Arizona is in sixth place in the Pacific Division and 28th in the league with 37 points. They are 2-7-1 in their last ten games.
Players to Watch
Keith Yandle. Yandle has an assist in each of his last four games and 26 total this season.
Shane Doan. Doan has been hot lately with six points in his last five games.
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Arizona does well in the faceoff circle with a 52.9 per cent win percentage and their power-play has been a bright spot for them at 21.5 per cent (7th).
The Coyotes allow a lot of goals, averaging 3.33 goals against per game (29th) and they also struggle to score, with an average of 2.22 goals per game.
