Brendan Gallagher on his opportunity to play in front of his friends and family on this Western Canada road trip: “It’s always fun to come out here. You don’t get the chance to play in front of your family and friends that much. I always look forward for it. I know they’re all excited, and hopefully we’ll get a win for them,”
Michel Therrien: “We have to be aware of something: From now on, we are going to see the best from every hockey team. We need to realize that. They’re looking to play against us. That’s a huge challenge mentally to be at the top at this time of the year,
P. K. Subban on inching closer to breaking an NHL record for consecutive wins to start a season: “Our goal is not to break any record. Our goal is to win the Stanley Cup so I think we’re going to save the champagne that everybody expects us to break out. Our focus is to try to make the playoffs and then move on from there. I know that as a team we’re not satisfied with where we’re at right now,”
Willie Desjardins: “I think he’s given us a chance every night; we’ve let a couple slip away, we’re trying to manage the amount he’s on the ice and keep him as fresh as we can.”
On Tuesday the Canadiens have a chance to tie an NHL record for 10 straight wins to start a season, with only the 1993-94 Maple Leafs and 2006-07 Sabres having done it in the past.
While the Canadiens lead the league in goals for and have the lowest goals against in the NHL, the Canucks are also in the top ten for lowest goals against, placing 6th. Vancouver’s offensive production is much more modest, as they rank 18th overall in goals for
Tuesday night will be the first time Brandon Prust, a former fan favorite, plays a game versus his Former team. He was dealt to the Canucks for Zack Kassian and 5th rounder this past offseason.
Matchup
Rogers Arena, Vancouver, BC. | October 27, 10:00 PM ET | TV: RDS, CITYM, SNV
2015-16 statistics
CANUCKS
CANADIENS
9 (T-15th)
Points (League rank)
18 (1st)
3-2-3
Record
9-0-0
0-2-3
Home
4-0-0
3-0-0
Road
5-0-0
3-2-3
Last 10
9-0-0
2.38
G/G
3.89
2.12
GA/G
1.33
1.8
PP%
22.9
87.0
PK%
90.9
48.6
CF%*
53.3
48.3
CF60*
60.0
51.0
CA60*
52.6
*Advanced statistics: Score adjusted, even strength. CF%: Corsi for percentage of total CF60: Corsi For/60 minutes CA60: Corsi Against/60 minutes (via War on Ice)
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
D. Sedin – H. Sedin – Vrbata
Baertschi – Horvat – Hansen
Burrows – Sutter – Virtanen
Prust – McCann – Dorsett
2015-’16 regular season Record: 3-2-3 GAA: 2.09 Sv%: .926 SO: 1 Alternate: Richard Bachman
2015-’16 regular season Record: 7-0-0 GAA: 1.29 Sv%: .961 SO: 2 Alternate: Mike Condon
Fantasy Outlook
While Ryan Miller is performing admirably so far this season (see stats above), it is extremely hard to see the potent offense of the Canadiens being shut down on Tuesday. Tuukka Rask, Marc-Andre Fleury and of course “King” Henrik Lundqvist were unable to out duel Carey Price so far this season, so I wouldn’t expect Miller to post the “W” on Tuesday. I recommend looking elsewhere for your netminder Tuesday night, unless Miller is your top guy, in which case you are already in a world of hurt.
If your team has any Montreal forward who is currently playing in their top 6 (Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Brendan Gallagher, Lars Eller, Alex Galchenyuk and Alex Semin) than you musy start them. The Canadiens are clicking up front and lead the league but a wide margin in goals for.
Many owners may be overreacting to the Sedin twins (Daniel and Henrik) getting off to a slow start, 4 and 5 points respectively. Because the Sedins are both 35 years old, we are able to use a decent sample size (22 games) versus the Canadiens in the past to extrapolate how they will do in the future.
Name
GP
G
A
Pts
+/-
PIM
Hits
PPP
SOG
H. Sedin
22
7
11
18
3
4
7
10
41
D. Sedin
22
3
11
14
-3
6
1
8
70
Both players have been shooting more than their career average states while playing the Canadiens. Daniel has averaged 2.66 shots per game over his career but while playing the Canadiens, this jumps to 3.18 shots per game. Another anomaly to point out is that Henrik has actually scored almost double the amount of goals versus the Canadiens as his brother Daniel (who is tabbed the goal scorer of the two). If your league is a points only league, I would start Henrik over Daniel; but if SOG is a category, the 3+ shots from Daniel could help so I recommend him in that situation. If you do have either of these players in your fantasy hockey league, then I would recommend starting them over any other options (unless your league is VERY shallow).
