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Matheson vs Petry | PREVIEW: MTL @ PIT

Sam Gerber

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

Game Preview 

A Look Back

It was a rough night in Montreal as the defending Stanley Cup Champions dismantled the Habs. The Habs were down early and didn’t really start battling back until halfway through the game, which was way too late and the Habs knew better. Jake Allen was pulled in mercy.

Last game: MTL 4  NJD 8  F

For a complete game recap: Avs Dominate Habs | RECAP: COL @ MTL

Players to Watch

  • Josh Anderson
    Josh Anderson has been playing great hockey but has lacked a finisher’s touch. It could be bad luck but it’s been the story surrounding Anderson for a long time.
  • Kaiden Guhle
    Battled and banged up is the description for the entire Habs defence. It was a shock to some to see Guhle back and he’s been playing some great hockey which will be key for his development.
  • Jesse Ylonen
    Ylonen has been making the best of his situation no matter where he plays in the lineup. He is primarily a playmaker but scored his third goal of the season against Colorado. Ylonen will have 15 games to use his NHL calibre skating, his shot and excellent defensive play to prove his deserves a spot in next year’s lineup.

Keys to Victory

  • Play smart
    The Habs have some steep competition the rest of the reason but the Habs need to start being smarter and have good tendencies that will carry over in games and into next season.
  • Ramp up effort
    The Habs were down 6-1 last night with only five shots on net, that is an excusable effort that shows the Habs weren’t ready to play from the start.
  • Focus on youth
    The Habs defence will likely look very similar next season as they benefited from several rookies this season, it’s key for those players to have a strong finish to the season and positively impact the development for next season.
Statistical Matchup for Game 68
PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA | March 14, 7:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, ESPN+, ATTSN-PT

2022-23  statistics
PENGUINS CANADIENS
78 (15th) Points (rank) 58 (28th)
34-22-10 Record 26-35-6
W2 Streak L2
7-2-1 Last 10 2-6-2
3.27 (13th) GF/G (rank) 2.69 (28th)
3.17 (16th) GA/G (rank) 3.61 (27th)
21.4 (17th) PP% (rank) 16.1 (30th)
79.7 (15th) PK% (rank) 72.8 (31st)
52.1  Faceoff % 49.3
Pre-game 
David Savard
  • “We will have to erase [this game] quickly. We play [Tuesday], it is perhaps the best thing that can happen to us, this second game in two nights. It gives us a chance to recover.”
Projected Forwards, Defense and Goaltenders (subject to change)
Forwards
Guentzel – Crosby – Rust
Zucker – Malkin – Nylander
O’Connor – Granlund – Rakell
Heinen – Carter – Archibald		 Harvey-Pinard – Suzuki – Ylonen
Gurianov – Drouin – Anderson
Pitlick – Tierney – Hoffman
Pezzetta – Belzile – Richard
Defensemen
Pettersson – Letang
Dumoulin – Petry
Joseph  – Rutta		 Matheson – Kovacevic
Edmundson – Barron
Guhle – Savard
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Friedman, Hallander, Ruhwedel
Injured: Poehling, Bonino, Kulikov		 Scratched: Wideman
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), Dvorak (lower-body), Harris (lower-body)
Goalies
Tristan Jarry Sam Montembeault
Record: 20-7-6
GAA: 2.86
Sv%: .913
SO: 1
Alternate: Casey DeSmith		 Record: 12-13-3
GAA: 3.28
Sv%: .905
SO: 0
Alternate: Jake Allen
 Game Expectations
The Penguins are holding onto one of the final wildcard spots and can’t afford a loss against a Habs team slowly falling to the bottom of the standings. That said the Habs have to answer for last night’s bad start and compete for a full sixty minutes.

Bottom Line

With a tough remaining schedule the Habs could easily finish bottom five in the league. It’s nothing to cheer for but the chance at Bedard becomes more real with every loss.
 Video Highlights

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