A Look Back

Canadiens did a solid job of protecting the house against the Bruins. Sam Montembeault  was solid in this one but unfortunately floundered late in the third when Patrice Bergeron scored with 2:55 left on the clock. Kirby Dach found mesh twice to find his 90th point of his career in his 200th game played.

Last game: MTL 2  BOS 4  F

For a complete game recap: Habs Make It Close | RECAP: BOS @ MTL

Players to Watch

• Kirby Dach
  With the Canadiens dealing with a plethora of injuries, players have been given more responsibility and one player who falls under that category is the Alberta native. The past two games he’s averaged over 20 minutes of ice time and it should remain this way until players return to the lineup. Dach has found four points in his last four games and is showing no signs of slowing down.
• Justin Barron
  The 2023 AHL All-star made his return to the lineup December 28th and has played a consistent bit of defense. The past four games Justin Barron has also found some production contributing four assists in his last four games. The 6-foot-2-inch defender is finding his rhythm at the NHL pace and could find a himself in the roster permanently very soon.
• Jesse Ylönen
  Ylönen has been getting more of an opportunity with the injury report and it’s proving to be a positive turn. The former 2018 second-rounder has not been necessarily generating point production but is certainly setting up key plays that have led to high danger opportunities and overall offensive pressure.

Keys to Victory

• Generate rebound chances
  Both Kirby Dach goals came from driving the offensive zone and getting pucks on net, the Canadiens should follow suit against the Red Wings and keep shooting pucks towards the net.
• Win faceoffs
  The Habs have been finding some success in the dot. Nick Suzuki was able to win 100 percent of his eight faceoffs in the first period against the Bruins and it led to the team being able to control the pace of the match and keeping the game tight. The team should focus on winning those key faceoffs against a strong offensive team such as Detroit.
• Use size
  The Canadiens have players who are no stranger to throwing the body around with Arber Xhekaj sitting 11th in the league with 140 hits, Michael Pezzetta with 95, and Josh Anderson with 88. The Red Wings are a strong team who play a similar style, the Habs are going to have to bring the same aggressive game play to the table to stack up against Detroit.

Bottom Line