GAME DAY | Blue Jackets – Canadiens: Preview, Prediction, Lines, Goalies, TV

Sam Gerber

November 27, 2017

GAME DAY | Blue Jackets – Canadiens: Preview, Prediction, Lines, Goalies, TV

Game Preview by Sam Gerber, Staff Writer

Last game: MTL 3 BUF 0

Carey Price was outstanding in his return with a 36-save shutout. Timely goals were all the offence that was required. A challenge to a call finally went the Habs way.

For a complete recap: Sabres – Canadiens: A 36-Save Shutout As Price Returns to Habs

Players to watch

Carey Price
Price will continue to be a player to watch as he will be relied upon to lead a fragile team. He will continue to be a deciding factor every night to determine whether the Habs win or lose.
Alex Galchenyuk
Galchenyuk scored his fifth goal of the season against the Sabres. In my opinion, he hasn’t showed enough consistency. Now is the perfect time for him to find his scoring touch and go on a streak.
Sergei Bobrovsky
With 28 saves, Bobrovsky was the difference maker the last time these teams matched up. As the winner of the Vezina Trophy in 2016-17, he is off to a great start this season.

Keys to Victory

Win the transition game
Both teams have speed that they use to counter attack. The Habs will need to be better in this part of the game. They can’t afford to give up odd man rushes.

Shoot the puck
It seemed to me that Canadiens shooters held on to the puck far too long in the last meeting with the Blue Jackets. Rather than being intimidated by Sergei Bobrovsky, they need to go with their instincts and shoot.

Use your speed
It is painfully clear that the Habs are not going to be a physical team no matter how much Claude Julien wants them to be. The team’s best asset is their speed. They must use it in areas of the ice right from the get go.

Matchup
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC \| November 27, 7:30 PM ET \| TV: TSN2, RDS, FS-O
	2017-18 statistics
BLUE JACKETS	2017-18 statistics	CANADIENS
31 (5th)	Points (rank)	21 (27th)
15-7-1	Record	9-12-3
7-3-1	Away/Home	5-5-2
6-3-1	Last 10	4-4-2
2.87	GF/G	2.33
2.35	GA/G	3.29
9.7	PP%	15.3
84.5	PK%	75.9
52.61	CF%	52.43


Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Panarin – Dubois – Anderson Jenner – Dubinsky – Bjorkstrand Milano – Foligno – Atkinson Motte – Sedlak – Schroeder	Byron – Drouin – Galchenyuk Pacioretty – Danault – Shaw Hudon – Plekanec – Gallagher Deslauriers – De La Rose – Froese
Defensemen
Werenski – Jones Johnson – Savard Murray – Nutivaara	Alzner – Petry Benn – Morrow Mete – Jerabek
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Harrington, Hannikainen Injured: Wennberg, Calvert	Scratched: Davidson, Schlemko Injured: Hemsky, Scherbak, Montoya, Lehkonen, Weber
Goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky	Carey Price

Record: 14-4-1 GAA: 1.91 Sv%: .936 SO: 3 Alternate: Joonas Korpisalo	Record: 4-7-1 GAA: 3.44 Sv%: .890 SO: 1 Alternate: Antti Niemi

What to Expect

This game could be a true goaltending battle with Carey Price having the much more difficult task given the shakiness of his defence and the potency of the Blue Jackets offense.

Prediction: Canadiens 2 Blue Jackets 0

Price will be looking to help his team carry the confidence they built in the victory against the Sabres.

Highlights from the NHL

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2017-18 statistics