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GAME PREVIEW | Canadiens – Devils: Flu Bug Hits Habs

Elias Laradi

GAME DAY | Montreal Canadiens vs New Jersey Devils: Preview, TV,  Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Habs Tickets

Game Preview 
Last game : MTL 3  CBJ 4  F   The Canadiens had another mistake-filled game with the top line being victimized most often. Once falling behind, Montreal had a difficult time making a comeback against a solid defensive team.  

For a complete game recap: Habs Fall Short

Players to watch

  • Max Domi
    On Sunday, Domi scored his first goal of 2020 after being blanked for the month of January. Domi has benefited from continuing excellent play by Artturi Lehkonen.
  • Tomas Tatar
    Tatar scored his 20th goal for the sixth consecutive time in his career. Tatar will receive interest from playoff bound teams. Marc Bergevin will have an important decision to make given that Tatar has a year-and-a-half left on his contract. 
  • Charlie Lindgren / Cayden Primeau
    The Canadiens will be without Carey Price who stayed back in Montreal to combat flu symptoms. Primeau was recalled on an emergency basis on Monday. The announcement of the starter, Charlie Lindgren, came from Claude Julien at 4:45 pm.

Keys to Victory

  • Dictate play
    The Habs must control the neutral zone and use their speed to set the pace of the game. 
  • Be hard on the forecheck
    The Devils have been prone to defensive miscues stemming from bad zone exits and committing turnovers. The Canadiens can exploit the defence by pressuring the puck.
  • Play a tight defensive game
    With Carey Price, the Habs must be responsible in their own giving much needed support to Charlie Lindgren. 
Statistical Matchup by All Habs
Prudential Center, Newark, NJ | February 4, 7:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, MSG

2019-20 statistics
DEVILS CANADIENS
45 (29th) Points (rank) 55 (22nd)
18-24-9 Record 24-23-7
7-9-9 Home/Away 13-9-3
3-4-3 Last 10 6-4-0
2.63 GF/G 3.04
3.53 GA/G 3.06
14.8 PP% 20.1
79.3 PK% 79.5
47.60  CF% 54.14
Pre-game quotes
Claude Julien
  • “There’s a flu going around the team. We’re taking precautions. We have a lot of games to play, and with the number of games coming up it’s important to give the players a chance to recover and be ready both mentally and physically.”
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders by All Habs
Forwards
Bratt – Hughes – Palmieri
Coleman – Zajac – Gusev
Wood – Zacha – Simmonds
Hayden – Rooney – Anderson		 Tatar – Danault – Gallagher
Kovalchuk – Suzuki – Armia
Lehkonen – Domi – Cousins
Poehling – Thompson – Weise
Defensemen
Greene – Subban
Butcher – Severson 
Mueller – Carrick		 Chiarot – Weber
Kulak – Petry
Scandella – Folin
Out of the lineup
Scratched: White
Injured: Vatanen, Hischier
 Scratched: Price (flu), Mete (flu), Weal (flu)
Injured: Drouin, Byron 
Goalies
Louis Domingue Charlie Lindgren
Record: 3-6-1
GAA: – 3.57
Sv%: – .885
SO: 0
Alternate: MacKenzie Blackwood		 Record: 0-3-0
GAA: – 3.39
Sv%: – .892
SO: 0
Alternate: Cayden Primeau
 What to Expect 
The Canadiens head to New Jersey riddled by a flu bug. As a preventative measure, they didn’t practice on Monday and didn’t have a morning skate on Tuesday. The Habs will have to make sure they don’t come out to flat start against a team that is aiming for the number one lottery pick in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft.
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