GAME DAY | Canadiens – Avalanche: Preview, Lines, Goalies, TV, Fantasy

• Matt Duchene on the recent switch made to the Avalanche’s lines: “I think as a team we’ve been stale offensively in the last 20 games. If you look at our goals per game, it’s not very good. We haven’t been scoring the same and maybe mixing something up will help.”
• Lars Eller on the Canadiens’ recent struggles: “You have to find all the motivation you can – whatever it is inside yourself to get you going. For some guys, maybe it’s more opportunities and ice time; for some maybe it’s contracts. It can be anything. Whatever makes you play your best hockey right now, we have to do it together. It’s just a matter at this point of coming out with the right attitude from the start of the game and being focused. We really have to stick together as a team now”
• Max Pacioretty on his newest linemate, Lars Eller (who is replacing an injured David Desharnais): “Playing with Lars is different. I haven’t played with Lars probably in my whole career, but he brings a lot of good things to the line. He’s a big, strong, powerful player and if he’s creating time and space and battling hard like he always does, he makes his linemates better. Hopefully we can jump in and play some good hockey together.”
• While the Canadiens have a 5-12-1 record versus teams in the Western Conference this season, the Avalanche have a 11-15-1 record against teams from the East.
• So far this season, the Canadiens have a 2-6-1 record versus teams in the Central division, while the Avalanche have a 6-7-0 record versus teams coming from the Atlantic.
• The Canadiens have risen in their placing for the goals against category, they are currently in 20th in the league in goals against, with 158 in 57 games. The Avalanche have allowed 164 goals in 59 games and find themselves in 25th in the league.
• The Canadiens have maintained their place in the standings in the goals for category as they are currently in 11th place in the NHL, with 157 over their first 57 games. The Avalanche are 10th in this category with 158 goals scored in 59 games.

• Top scorers for the Avalanche at home this season are:

1. Tyson Barrie, Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon (all with 22 points in 26, 28 and 29 games respectively)
2. Francois Beauchemin (with 19 points in 29 games)

• Top scorers for the Canadiens on the road this season are:

1. Max Pacioretty and P. K. Subban (both with 22 points in 29 games)
2. Andrei Markov (with 20 points in 29 games)
3. Alex Galchenyuk (with 19 points in 29 games)

* – Currently injured

Player stats from War-on-Ice, NHL.com and Yahoo Sports.