Lehkonen, Eller vs Habs | PREVIEW: COL @ MTL

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Cole Jurzyniec
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GAME DAY PREVIEW | Montreal Canadiens vs Colorado Avalanche: Preview, TV, Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Habs Tickets

Game Preview 

A Look Back

The Devils handed the Canadiens their sixth consecutive loss. New Jersey opened the scoring mid-way through the first period and potted another closer to the end. The Habs found some life in the second period after Rem Pitlick threw a well-placed pass to Denis Gurianov who made no mistake, marking his second goal with the club. In a fitting manner, ex-Hab Tomas Tatar found the empty net to silence the Bell Centre.

Last game: MTL 1  NJD 3  F

For a complete game recap: Allen Keeps It Close | RECAP: NJD @ MTL

Players to Watch

  • Denis Gurianov
    Being the only deadline move and a questionable acquisition at that, the 6-foot-3-inch Russian winger has found some production on a lackluster squad, there’s no guarantee he’ll be a Hab in the future, but for now, his contributions are appreciated and this fresh start could be used as an opportunity for growth. He has three points (2G-1A) through seven games.
  • Kaiden Guhle
    The 21-year-old defender scored on March 9th and added an assist against the Rangers last Thursday night. It was a tough go against the Devils Saturday evening posting a minus-3 rating and will be looking to close out his rookie season on a positive note.
  • Johnathan Kovacevic
    He’s a player who doesn’t see the spotlight often, but has been playing a fantastic brand of stay at home, shut-down style of defense for the club and although point production isn’t his strong suit, he adds grit and consistency to the back end. The Hamilton native has posted a plus-4 rating in 61 games played.

Keys to Victory

  • Use the body
    The Canadiens had an overwhelming 34 hits to the Devils 17 Saturday night and proved to keep them alive in the game and helped open the ice surface. The Avalanche are a gritty team and they’re going to need to bring the same energy to find a win.
  • Fill the lanes
    The Avalanche have a few all-stars that can move the puck with power and authority. The Canadiens back-end will have to be on top of their game and shut down all available lanes to avoid getting caught flat-footed.
  • Limit shots
    The Canadiens have allowed 109 total shots against in their past three games. Closing shooting lanes and keeping the puck out of the defensive zone will be absolutely necessary in shutting down an offensively-minded Colorado team.
Statistical Matchup for Game 67
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC | March 13, 7:30 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, ESPN+, ALT

2022-23  statistics
AVALANCHE CANADIENS
78 (14th) Points (rank) 58 (28th)
36-22-6 Record 26-34-6
W1 Streak L1
6-3-1 Last 10 3-5-2
3.16 (16th) GF/G (rank) 2.67 (28th)
2.78 (9th) GA/G (rank) 3.55 (25th)
23.1 (8th) PP% (rank) 15.7 (31st)
79.3 (17th) PK% (rank) 73.8 (29th)
46.5  Faceoff % 49.2
Pre-game 
Nick Suzuki

  • “Since Kent [Hughes] came in, he’s been very clear with the fans and they know what’s going on. With all the players out, they support us however they can.”
Projected Forwards, Defense and Goaltenders (subject to change)
Forwards
Rodrigues – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Lehkonen – Compher – Nichushkin
Cogliano – Eller – O’Connor
Malgin – Newhook – Nieto		 Pitlick – Suzuki – Gurianov
Hoffman – Drouin – Anderson
Harvey-Pinard – Tierney – Ylonen
Pezzetta – Belzile – Richard
Defensemen
Toews – Makar
Girard – Byram
J. Johnson – Hunt		 Matheson – Savard
Edmundson – Guhle
Wideman – Kovacevic
Out of the lineup
Scratched:
Injured: Landeskog, Helm, E. Johnson, Francouz, Manson, MacDermid		 Scratched: none
Injured: Byron (hip), Price (knee), Monahan (lower-body), Gallagher (lower-body), Evans (lower-body), Slafkovsky (lower-body), Caufield (shoulder), Xhekaj (upper-body), Dach (lower-body), Armia (illness), Barron (upper-body), Dvorak (lower-body), Harris (lower-body)
Goalies
Alexandar Georgiev Sam Montembeault
Record: 28-14-5
GAA: 2.62
Sv%: .918
SO: 4
Alternate: Jonas Johansson		 Record: 12-13-3
GAA: 3.28
Sv%: .905
SO: 0
Alternate: Jake Allen
 Game Expectations
The Habs have now lost six games in a row, but have almost found a few upsets along the way. The team has been playing commendable brand of hockey but are assumingly anxious to add a victory to break the losing streak. This will be a back and forth matchup at the Bell Centre, with lots of offensive prowess.

Bottom Line

With 16 games left in the regular season, the Canadiens should keep putting their best effort on the ice and try to scrape a few victories together to finish the season.
 Video Highlights

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