All Habs Weekly Forecast: Canadiens Visit Wings, Sens, Host Panthers, Jackets

• The Habs (36-15-4) are coming off a 2-1 win against Toronto last Saturday and start their week Monday against Detroit. Montreal has moved up to first in the Atlantic Division and fifth in the league with 76 points. They are 7-2-1 in their last ten games played.

• Brendan Gallagher. Gallagher had a goal in the game against Toronto last week and has 30 points this season. He might not get on the score sheet often but he does a lot that goes unnoticed to help the Habs win games.
• Tomas Plekanec. Plekanec had a goal and two assists in his last three games along with two shorthanded goals this season (5th).

• Montreal continues to be the best team in the league at faceoffs with a 54.0 per cent win percentage. The Habs also still lead the league with the best goals against average at 2.22 goals against per game.

• The Canadiens have struggled all year to get shots on net and average just 28.3 shots per game (25^th), well behind Chicago who leads the league with 34.6 shots a game.

• The Red Wings (31-13-10) are coming off a 5-4 overtime loss against Winnipeg last Saturday and start their week against Montreal. Detroit is third in the Atlantic Division and ninth in the league with 72 points. They are 7-2-1 in their last ten games.

• Tomas Tatar. Tatar has seven points in his last five games and 41 points this season.
• Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk has a tremendous amount of offensive talent and has no problem finding the back of the net. He has six points in his last five games.

• Detroit has the best power-play in the league at 26.3 per cent as well as a good defence and goaltending that only allows 2.43 goals against on average (6th).

• The Red Wings put up good numbers on offence but they don’t take a lot of shots, which hurts their scoring chances. They average 29.6 shots a game (20th).

Season Series

• April 9, 2015 | MTL DET |
• February 16, 2015 | MTL  DET |
• November 16, 2014 | MTL 4 DET 1 |  Recap – Canadiens vs Red Wings: Habs Win Sixth Straight
• October 21, 2014 | MTL 2  DET 1  (OT) |  Recap – Red Wings vs Canadiens: Price Carries the Load, Habs Notch Comeback Win

• The Senators (22-22-10) are coming off a 7-2 win against Edmonton last Saturday and start their week against Carolina before playing Montreal Wednesday. Ottawa is sixth in the Atlantic Division and 23rd in the league with 54 points. They are 4-4-2 in their last ten games.

• Erik Karlsson.  Karlsson has five points in his last three games and 200 shots this season (5th).
• Kyle Turris. Turris has both a goal and an assist in his last two games for a total of four points in those two games.

• Ottawa is having a rough year but their penalty-kill has been one strong point all season at 83.2 per cent (9th).

• The Senators give up a lot of goals, averaging 2.72 goals against per game. Unless they put of seven-point nights more often than last Saturday, it’s hard to win games letting up so many goals against.

Season Series

• March 12, 2015 | MTL OTT |
• February 18, 2015 | MTL OTT |
• January 15, 2015 | MTL 1  OTT 4  |  Recap – Canadiens vs Senators: Habs Slow Start Hands Win to Sens
• December 20, 2014 | MTL 4 OTT 1 |  Recap – Senators vs Canadiens: Top Line is Fun to Watch

• The Panthers (24-19-12) last game was a 2-1 overtime loss against St. Louis last Sunday. They play Toronto Tuesday and Montreal Thursday. Florida is fifth in the Atlantic Division and 20th in the league with 60 points. They are 4-4-2 in their last ten games.

• Nick Bjugstad. Bjugstad has three goals in his last four games and leads the Panthers with 35 points this season.
• Aaron Ekblad. The first overall pick of the 2014 draft has two goals and one assist in his last five games and has 32 points this season.

• Florida struggles all over the board but one area they have done well in is getting plenty of shots on net with an average of 31.4 shots per game.

• The Panthers really struggle on the power-play with a 14.9 per cent rating as well as scoring on even strength, averaging just 2.36 goals per game (25th).

Season Series

• April 5, 2015 | MTL FLA |
• March 28, 2015 | MTL  FLA  |
• March 17, 2015 | MTL  FLA  |
• February 19, 2015 | MTL  FLA  |
• December 30, 2014 | MTL 2 FLA 1  (SO) |  Recap – Canadiens vs Panthers: Habs Squeak Out A Win in South Florida

• The Blue Jackets (24-27-3) last game was a 6-3 loss against the Islanders last Saturday. They will play Pittsburgh Thursday before heading to Montreal Saturday. Columbus is sixth in the Metropolitan Division and 26th in the league with 51 points. They are 4-6-0 in their last ten games.

• Nick Foligno. Foligno has seven points in his last five games and has a five-game point streak going.
• Scott Hartnell. Hartnell also has seven points in his last five games and has a six-game point streak.

• The Blue Jackets have a strong power-play at 22.1 per cent.

• Columbus gives up a lot of goals, allowing an average of 3.13 goals against per game (26th).

Season Series

• February 26, 2015 | MTL  CBJ  |
• February 21, 2015 | MTL  CBJ  |
• January 14, 2015 | MTL 3  CBJ 2  |  Recap – Canadiens vs Blue Jackets: Habs Power-play Fuels Comeback