LEXINGTON, KY — This upcoming week the Canadiens play two on the road before hosting Toronto on Saturday. Last week the Habs went 2-1-1; finishing the week on a good note, beating Columbus 3-1.
Calendar: February 23 – March 1
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Montreal Canadiens
The Habs (38-16-5) are coming off a 3-1 win against Columbus last Saturday and look ahead to playing St. Louis, Columbus, and Toronto this week. Montreal is still first in the Atlantic Division and they have moved up to third in the league with 81 points. They are 6-2-2 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
Max Pacioretty. The Habs leading scorer has been hot all season, adding four goals in his last four games for 29 total. Pacioretty also has the league best, plus-33 rating.
David Desharnais. Desharnais has an assist in each of his last three games and 26 total this season. The first line centre has been reaping the benefits of playing along side Pacioretty but a lot of Pacioretty’s scoring chances wouldn’t happen without Desharnais’ great passes.
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Montreal continues to be one of the best faceoff teams in the league. They are tied for first with St. Louis at 53.6 per cent.
The Habs’ power-play has been ugly all season and remains a low point for them on the stat sheets at 16.7 per cent (25th).
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Tuesday
St. Louis Blues
The Blues (38-17-4) are coming off a 4-2 loss against Pittsburgh last Saturday and start their week Tuesday against Montreal. St. Louis is second in the Central Division and sixth in the league with 80 points. They are 6-4-0 in their last ten games.
Players to Watch
Vladimir Tarasenko. Tarasenko has six points in his last five games and 31 goals this season (4th).
Alexander Steen. Steen had three assists last week against Boston in Malcolm Subban’s NHL debut and he has 51 points this season.
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
St. Louis has an efficient offence, averaging 3.03 goals per game and a power-play at 23.5 per cent.
The Blues’ penalty-kill is a soft spot to be exploited at 80.0 per cent.
The Blue Jackets (26-28-4) are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss against the Rangers last Sunday. They will play Buffalo Tuesday and Montreal Thursday. Columbus is seventh in the Metropolitan Division and 25th in the league with 56 points. They are 5-4-1 in their last ten games.
Players to Watch
Artem Anisimov. Anisimov has three points in his last two games and 13 points in the 28 games he has played in this season.
Nick Foligno. Foligno scored the only Columbus goal against the Habs last week (third star) and he had two assists in his last game. He has 55 points this season.
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
The Blue Jackets don’t have much to brag about except their power-play at 21.2 per cent.
Columbus struggles to score goals, averaging just 2.57 goals a game.
The Maple Leafs (24-31-5) last game was a 4-3 win against Winnipeg last Saturday. They play Philadelphia Thursday and Montreal Saturday. Toronto is seventh in the Atlantic Division and 26th in the league with 53 points. They are 2-7-1 in the their last ten games.
Players to Watch
Nazem Kadri. Kadri has four points in his last three games and 34 total this season.
Daniel Winnik. Winnik had a goal and an assist in the game against Winnipeg and he has 25 points this season.
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Toronto’s power-play and penalty-kill are both pretty good at 18.6 and 82.1 per cent respectively.
The Maple Leafs give up a lot of shots. They average 32.6 shots against per game.
