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Danault Returns to Bell Centre | PREVIEW: LAK @ MTL

Rick Stephens

GAME DAY PREVIEW | Montreal Canadiens vs Los Angeles Kings: Preview, TV, Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Habs Tickets

Montreal Canadiens vs Los Angeles Kings Game Day
Game Preview (with contributions from Cole Jurzyniec)

A Look Back

After a dominant first period, the Canadiens gave up five unanswered goals for their tenth loss of the season. This is now the worst start in Montreal Canadiens franchise history.

Last game: MTL 2  VGK 5  F

For a complete game recap: Finding Ways to Lose | RECAP: VGK @ MTL

Players to Watch

  • Brendan Gallagher
    Gallagher has just five in 12 games played this season but those two goals and three assists have come in the last six games. Gallagher has not been 100 percent healthy and his presence and production have been missed this season. But his recent play is a good sign for the Canadiens.
  • Chris Wideman
    Wideman has been pressed into service on the Canadiens top power-play until with Jeff Petry still looking for his game offensively and defensively. Wideman committed a key turnover with the man advantage against Vegas which had Dominique Ducharme talking about giving Mattias Norlinder an opportunity in the lineup later this week.
  • Jake Allen
    With just three wins in 11 starts this season Allen has struggled considerably. While the Canadiens goal scoring is down, Allen has not even been able to provide replacement level goaltending. Currently Allen has a goals saved above average rate of minus-3.92, which is 54th among goaltenders in the NHL.

Keys to Victory

  • Be disciplined
    Neither team has been very successful on special teams this season. With only a 66 percent success rate, the Canadiens are bottom-5 in the league on the penalty-kill. Montreal must stay disciplined to avoid taking lazy offensive zone penalties.
  • Win the matchups
    The Habs have scored first in five of their 13 contest but have only won two of those games. They need to maintain their pace for thee full 60 minutes to clamp down on the opposition.
  • Make adjustments
    While the Dominique Ducharme’s complex system makes perfect sense in the mind of the coach, the players are having great difficult executing it even with a full training camp and practice time. It’s time for the coaching staff to adapt the plan to the players they have.
Statistical Matchup for Game 14
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC | November 9, 7:00 PM ET | TV: RDS, TSN2, ESPN+

2021-22  statistics
KINGS CANADIENS
13 (17th) Points (rank) 6 (30th)
5-4-1 Record 3-10-0
W5 Streak L2
5-4-1 Last 10 3-7-0
2.83 GF/G 2.00
2.67 GA/G 3.46
19.1 (19th) PP% (rank) 13.6 (26th)
69.7 (28th) PK%  (rank) 66.0 (29th)
53.1  Faceoff % 45.6
Pre-game Quotes
Dominique Ducharme
  • “Carey (Price) was in (the Bell Sports Complex at Brossard), he’s still in. It was good for me to see him and see how he’s doing and for the guys, too, to see their teammate back. We have a good group of guys and they care about each other. So having him back I think just on the personal side the guys feel pretty good about seeing him and seeing that he’s doing good.”
Projected Forwards, Defense and Goaltenders (subject to change)
Forwards
Kempe – Kopitar – Brown
Iafallo – Danault – Athansiou
Grundstrom – Kupari – Moore
Lemieux – Lizotte – Kaliyev		 Toffoli – Suzuki – Gallagher
Hoffman – Evans – Anderson
Lehkonen – Dvorak – Armia
Pezzetta – Paquette – Belzile
Defensemen
Edler – Clague
Maatta – Roy
Bjornfot – Anderson		 Chiarot – Petry
Kulak – Savard
Romanov – Wideman
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Strand, Tynan
Injured: Walker, Doughty, Andersson, Byfield
COVID protocol: Arvidsson, Vilardi		 Scratched: Niku, Brooks
Injured: Drouin (upper body), Perreault (eye), Edmundson (lower-body), Price (knee), Byron (hip), Weber (multiple injuries)
Goalies
Cal Petersen Jake Allen
Record: 3-2-0
GAA: 3.02
Sv%: .898
SO: 0
Alternate: Jonathan Quick		 Record: 3-8-0
GAA: 2.94
Sv%: .900
SO: 2
Alternate: Sam Montembeault
 Game Expectations
The Kings are coming off a big 5-1 victory over the Maple Leafs on Monday night for the fifth straight win. The visitors hope to repeat their 5-2 result when the two teams last played in Los Angeles. Phil Danault will be making his first return to the Bell Centre since signing with the Kings in the off-season. Danault has eight points in 12 games.

Bottom Line

The rested Habs should come out strong again to take advantage of a team on a back-to-back. With four games this week, it’s important for the Canadiens to pick up a win tonight especially in front of their fans at the Bell Centre.
 Video Highlights

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