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

Game Preview by Sam Gerber

Last game : MTL 2 NYR 1 F Carey Price played one of his best games of the season while the Habs veterans led the way. Brendan Gallagher scored his 13th goal of the season with Shea Weber playing a shut down role and Nate Thompson scoring the game winner in the final two minutes of the game.

For a complete game recap:

Players to watch

Ben Chiarot
Chariot is logging more ice time than he is used to and it’s led to some good play but more recently some bad. It’s clear that the Habs are desperate for help on the left side and it’s time for Marc Bergevin to take notice.
Joel Armia
The strength of Armia’s game is possession. He is always involved either getting shots through or playing the body proving that the effort is there each game.
Jeff Petry
Hopefully December is much nicer to Petry who has been fighting the puck for awhile. He had a solid game against the Rangers which he can build upon.

Keys to Victory

Play with energy
The Habs have had a few days off giving everyone lots of time to rest up. They need to come out strong and be prepared for a high paced game.
Defend first
The Habs defensive game has been much better as of late keeping teams to under three goals or less. Claude Julien abandoned his system in an effort to break the losing streak. The Canadiens need to focus on defence but open their game to restore five-on-five offence.
Get to the net
Traffic in front continues to be key as the Habs like the defence to have a shoot first mentality.

Statistical Matchup by All Habs
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA \| December 10, 7:00 PM ET \| TV: TSN2, RDS, ESPN+, ATTSN-PT
	2019-20 statistics
PENGUINS	2019-20 statistics	CANADIENS
38 (9th)	Points (rank)	32 (20th)
17-9-4	Record	13-11-6
12-3-2	Home/Away	6-4-3
6-2-2	Last 10	2-6-2
3.40	GF/G	3.17
2.70	GA/G	3.37
16.1	PP%	19.0
81.9	PK%	75.5
53.48	CF%	54.23

Pre-game quotes
Riley Barber “I was a really big Penguins fan. I was there when they won the Stanley Cup in Detroit. I remember when Mario Lemieux bought the team. He had a kid a little bit older than me, and he was around the rink at times, so I saw him growing up.”
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders by All Habs
Forwards
Guentzel – Malkin – Rust Kahun – McCann – Tanev Aston-Reece – Blueger – Simon Galchenyuk – Lafferty – Noesen	Tatar – Danault – Gallagher Lehkonen – Domi – Armia Cousins – Suzuki – Weal Peca – Thompson – Barber
Defensemen
Letang – Marino Johnson – Schultz Pettersson – Riikola	Kulak – Weber Chiarot – Petry Leskinen – Fleury
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Ruhwedel Injured: Crosby, Hornqvist, Bjustad, Dumoulin	Scratched: Reilly, Folin Injured: Drouin, Byron, Mete, Kotkaniemi
Goalies
Tristan Jarry	Carey Price

Record: 7-4-0 GAA: – 1.81 Sv%: – .943 SO: 2 Alternate: Matt Murray	Record: 12-9-3 GAA: – 3.04 Sv%: – .902 SO: 1 Alternate: Cayden Primeau

What to Expect by Sam Gerber

The Penguins have been troubled with injuries but still are six points up on the Habs for one of the wildcard spots. The Habs and Pens are similar teams that both have injuries but the Habs have holes at center and defense while the Penguins have elite players that step up when players are down. It’s time some of the Habs take a bigger step up to make up for the injuries.

Quick Links from Rocket Sports Media publications

Tickets


Get Habs Tickets
Need tickets for an upcoming Canadiens game? Click the following link for the best prices on available tickets: Montreal Canadiens Tickets

Follow @AllHabs on Twitter

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

2019-20 statistics