All Habs Weekly Forecast: Canadiens Aim to Get Back on Track

• The Habs (26-12-3) are coming off a hard week, gaining only one point in the standings. They have a few days to regroup before starting their week Wednesday at Columbus and hopefully getting back in the win column. Montreal has dropped to second in the Atlantic Division and eighth in the league with 55 points. The Canadiens are 7-2-1 in their last ten games.

• Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty has been on a streak lately, scoring a goal in each of his last four games. The 6’2” winger also has 146 shots this season (5th).
• Tomas Plekanec. Plekanec has three points in his last four games as well as two short-handed goals this season (4th). The Czech native has also seen a rise in his playing time, averaging 20 minutes on the ice in his last two games.

• Montreal’s puck possession has been a big factor all season, especially winning faceoffs, with a win percentage of 54.3 (2nd), right behind Detroit’s 54.4 per cent.

• The Habs’ power-play continues to burden them, dropping even further to 13.7 per cent.

• The Blue Jackets (18-19-3) are coming off a 5-2 loss against the Islanders last Saturday and start their week Wednesday against the Canadiens. Columbus is fifth in the Metropolitan Division and 25th in the league with 39 points. They are 5-4-1 in their last ten games played.

• Nick Foligno. Foligno leads the Blue Jackets with 40 points this season, picking up eight in his last five games. The 27-year-old also has nine power-play goals this season (2nd).
• Ryan Johansen. Picked to represent Columbus in the 2015 All-Star game, Johansen has five goals in his last five games; boasting a 100 per cent shooting percentage against Toronto and Dallas last week.

• The Blue Jackets’ power-play has been tough to stop this year, sitting second in the league at 24.5 per cent.

• Columbus has had a hard time keeping the puck out of their net, allowing an average of 3.25 goals a game as well as struggling to score, averaging only 2.5 goals per game (24th).

Season Series

• First meeting this year.

• The Senators (17-16-8) are coming off a 5-1 win against Phoenix last Saturday and start their week against Dallas on Tuesday. Ottawa is seventh in the Atlantic Division and 22nd in the league with 42 points. They are 4-4-2 in their last ten games.

• Clarke MacArthur. MacArthur has four points in his last five games and four game-winning goals this season (5th).
• Mike Hoffman. Hoffman has three goals in his last five games and is enjoying a plus-19 rating (8th) this season.

• Ottawa has had a rough start to the season but their penalty-kill has been a consistent strength at 82.8 (9th).

• The Senators give up a lot of scoring chances, allowing 32.7 shots against per game (26th).

Season Series

• December 20, 2014 | MTL 4 OTT 1 | Recap – Senators vs Canadiens: Top Line is Fun to Watch

• The Islanders (28-13-1) are coming off a 5-2 win against Columbus last Saturday and play Pittsburgh Friday before heading to Montreal on Saturday. The Isles are in first place in the Metropolitan Division and fifth in the league with 57 points. They are 6-3-1 in their last ten games.

• Kyle Okposo. Okposo has three points in his last three games and 28 assists this season (6th).
• John Tavares. Tavares has 19 goals this season (8th), picking up four in his last five games.

• The Islanders have a hot offence, averaging 2.98 goals per game.

• New York’s penalty-kill is one of the worst in the league at 76.5 per cent. Hopefully the Habs can take advantage of that and get some scoring chances on the power-play.

Season Series

• December 23, 2014 | MTL 3 NYI 1 | Recap – Canadiens vs Penguins: Habs Beat Pens For 6th Straight Win