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GAME PREVIEW | Lightning – Canadiens: Habs Fighting to Stay Alive

Sam Gerber

GAME DAY | Tampa Bay Lightning – Montreal Canadiens: Preview, TV,  Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Habs Tickets

Game Preview by Sam Gerber
Last game : MTL 3  WPG 1   The Canadiens played a strong road game by slowing down the Jets and shutting down the neutral zone. The Jets had 24 shots on net which Carey Price did a great job stopping. Joel Armia scored against his former team on the power-play. Then it was Jeff Petry with the blast from the point to get the Habs a two goal lead late in the second. The Jets managed to get one back but the Habs shut them down and Jordan Weal sealed the deal with the empty netter.

For a complete game recap: Armia Leads Habs in Winnipeg

Players to watch

  • Shea Weber
    With three games left the Canadiens will rely on their captain to set the tone. Weber will lead by example when the Habs need a spark.
  • Tomas Tatar
    Tatar is the gift the just keeps on giving as he has now reached a career high. Tatar will need to finish strong to help push the Habs into a playoff spot. 
  • Jonathan Drouin
    With Claude Julien unable to trust his fourth line in the third period, Drouin was caught out on the ice in the final two minutes of the game. It was not ideal, given that he is the worst forward defensively on the Habs. Montreal dodged a bullet however with Jordan Weal getting the empty netter. Let’s hope that Drouin will have incentive to ramp up his effort level significantly playing against his former team.

Keys to Victory

  • Make a strong start
    The Lightning have reached 60 wins and won’t be stopping anytime soon. The Habs can’t let them get going and need to be on the puck from the start.
  • Play high tempo
    Tampa played on Monday night. If Montreal ups the tempo at home they may be able to takeover in the second half of the game.
  • Win special teams
    The Habs new look power-play was successful against Winnipeg. They will need to  generate offence against the Bolts to help get them into the playoffs.
Statistical Matchup by All Habs staff
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC | April 2, 7:30 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, SUN

2018-19 statistics
LIGHTNING CANADIENS
124 (1st) Points (rank) 92 (15th)
60-15-4 Record 42-29-8
28-8-2 Away/Home 23-12-4
8-2-0 Last 10 6-3-1
3.90 GF/G 2.99
2.70 GA/G 2.87
28.2 PP% 12.6
84.7 PK% 80.8
52.03  CF%  54.01
Pre-game quote
Jordie Benn
  • “We’re going to try get our fans into it early and get the place roaring.”
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Palat – Stamkos – Joseph
Gourde – Point – Kucherov
Johnson – Cirelli – Killorn
Miller – Paquette – Erne		 Tatar – Danault – Gallagher
Lehkonen – Domi – Shaw
Drouin – Weal – Armia
Kotkaniemi – Thompson – Byron
Defensemen
 McDonagh – Cernak
Coburn – Sergachev
Gaunce – Rutta		 Mete – Weber
Kulak – Petry
   Benn – Folin
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Callahan, Martel
Injured: Domingue, Hedman, Stralman, Girardi
 Scratched: Reilly, Hudon, Deslauriers, Weise, Lindgren, Peca, Poehling
Injured: none
Goalies
Eddie Pasquale Carey Price
Record: 1-0-0
GAA: – 4.62
Sv%: – .792
SO: 0
Alternate: Andrei Vasilevskiy		 Record: 34-23-6
GAA: – 2.50
Sv%: – .917
SO: 4
Alternate: Antti Niemi
 What to Expect by Sam Gerber
The Canadiens have three games left to make the playoffs. They need to be almost perfect and get a little help on the way. The Habs know this but they can’t look ahead. They need to focus on tonight’s game and Tampa is the top team in the league. It doesn’t matter that Tampa isn’t starting their number one goalie or that their top defenseman is out. They are the most complete teams in the NHL with a lot of depth and tonight is not going to be easy. The Habs need to fast and ready from the start and crash the net. 
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