Habs Weekly Forecast: Pacioretty, Markov, Desharnais, Ryder

by Jocelyne LeBlanc, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

MONCTON, N.B. – So far this season, the Montreal Canadiens have played twenty-one games and have a record of 13 wins, 4 losses and 4 overtime/shootout losses. They have earned at least one point in each of their last ten games. They are currently ranked 4th in the Eastern Conference with 30 points.

Players to Watch for the Week of March 3 to March 9, 2013

The Canadiens will play four games during the week of Sunday, March 3 to Saturday, March 9, 2013. Listed below are a few players to keep your eyes on during the upcoming week:

Max Pacioretty
Pacioretty is on a three-game point streak with five points (three goals, two assists). He is also the leading point producer for the Canadiens with 18 points (7 goals, 11 assists) in 17 games.

Andrei Markov
Markov is also on a three-game point streak with three points (1 goal, 2 assists). So far this season, he has 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 21 games.

David Desharnias
Desharnais is on a two-game point streak with three points (one goal, two assists). He also has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his last eight games. So far this season, he produced 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 21 games.

Michael Ryder
On February 26th, the Canadiens acquired Michael Ryder and a third round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Erik Cole. Although Ryder has only played two games with the Canadiens and hasn’t produced any points, I do think that he’s a player to watch. In 19 games with the Stars this season, Ryder earned 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists).

Of the twelve goals they scored in their last three games, the Canadiens only recorded two of them on the power play. On the other hand, they had ten goals scored against them in those three games and only one was recorded while they were a man down.

Listed below are their upcoming four games:

Sunday, March 3rd – Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins
The Canadiens and Bruins have played each other once so far this season on February 6th with Boston winning that game by a score of 2-1. P.K. Subban scored Montreal’s only goal that game.

Tuesday, March 5th – Montreal Canadiens at New York Islanders
The Canadiens and Islanders have faced each other one time so far this season on February 21st with New York taking that game by a score of 4-3 in overtime. Max Pacioretty scored twice that game, while David Desharnais recorded two assists.

Thursday, March 7th – Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes
The Canadiens and Hurricanes have played each other once so far this season on February 18th with Montreal winning that game by a 3-0 shutout. Peter Budaj was in the net that game and stopped all 19 shots he faced. Max Pacioretty tallied a goal and an assist in that game.

Saturday, March 9th – Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning
The Canadiens and Lightning have faced each other once so far this season on February 12th with Montreal taking that game by a score of 4-3 in a shootout. In that game, P.K. Subban recorded a goal and an assist, while Lars Eller tallied two assists.