Hoffman, Brooks to Make Habs Debut | PREVIEW: SJS @ MTL
Rick Stephens
GAME DAY PREVIEW | Montreal Canadiens vs San Jose Sharks: Preview, TV, Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Habs Tickets
Game Preview (with contributions from Cole Jurzyniec)
A Look Back
The Canadiens played better defensively — they are discovering just how much they miss Carey Price — but continued to struggle to generate offence. The Habs are taking too many penalties and are unable to kill them off consistently. Montreal was unable to send their fans to the exits happy with a home opener win.
Mike Hoffman
Hoffman is expected to make his Canadiens debut after recovering from a lower-body injury. With the Canadiens struggling at 0-for-11 with the man advantage, Dominique Ducharme will welcome Hoffman with open arms. The 31-year-old left-winger has scored 35 percent of his NHL goals on the power-play.
Nick Suzuki
The mantle of being a first-line centre with a $63 million contract is a large burden for a 22-year-old. Suzuki is pointless in three games, has a minus-2 rating and has been just 48.9 percent at the faceoff dot. Suzuki is critical for the success of the Habs.
Brett Kulak
Kulak was given an opportunity on the top pairing with Jeff Petry to determine if previous chemistry could allow the pair to flourish. Kulak has two assists in three games. Last game Kulak was back on the third pair as his Corsi for Percentage of 42.31 is second worst on the team.
Keys to Victory
Create better PP opportunities
The Canadiens two power-play units must create more high danger scoring chances but to do that they need to do a better job setting up in the offensive zone. Penalty-kills have been cheating towards Cole Caufield and the Habs have not adjusted.
Be disciplined
Montreal is also struggling short-handed. Ben Chiarot and Chris Wideman each have six minutes in penalties in just three games. Right now, the Canadiens are being called for an abundance of stick infractions and have gifted a league high 13 power-plays to the opposition.
Win faceoffs Apart from Christian Dvorak, Habs centres are underwater on faceoffs. Nick Suzuki and Jake Evans are each at 48 percent in the faceoff circle while Cedric Paquette is at a paltry 27 percent. Suzuki struggles are magnified on the power-play where he is just 22 percent at the dot.
Statistical Matchup for Game 4
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC | October 19, 7:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, ESPN+
2021-22 statistics
SHARKS
CANADIENS
2 (20th)
Points (rank)
0 (32nd)
1-0-0
Record
0-3-0
0-0-0
Away/Home
0-1-0
1-0-0
Last 10
0-3-0
4.00
GF/G
1.00
3.00
GA/G
3.33
40.0 (7th)
PP% (rank)
00.0 (28th)
100.0 (6th)
PK% (rank)
61.5 (25th)
48.65
CF%
48.18
Pre-game Quotes
Adam Brooks
“Me and Hoffer are both new here, new to the organization. And Gally has been here for a long time, so… He was very good with both of us, talking us through the drills, talking us through what makes him comfortable, what he likes. Gally did a great job in just welcoming us and making sure that we felt comfortable with the drills and everything.”
Projected Forwards, Defense and Goaltenders (subject to change)
Record: 1-0-0 GAA: 3.00 Sv%: .870 SO: 0 Alternate: James Reimer
Record: 0-2-0 GAA: 2.05 Sv%: .925 SO: 0 Alternate: Sam Montembeault
Game Expectations
The Canadiens home stand continues this week providing a solid opportunity for them to get on track and to treat the Bell Centre fans. Many hockey analysts have the Sharks and Habs fighting for the same real estate in the bottom third of the NHL standings this season. It is important for Montreal to get their offense rolling early to pick up their first two points of the season.
Bottom Line
The Habs desperately need a win to help start restoring their confidence. The home fans are supportive but will expect to see some progress as players return to the lineup.