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Oilers – Canadiens: Habs Look to Repeat Effort | GAME PREVIEW

Sam Gerber

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

Game Preview

A Look Back

Carey Price shut the door early allowing the Habs to settle in and play their style of game. Jeff Petry and Tomas Tatar led the way in the goals department for the Habs, each scoring a pair. Jake Evans scored his first of the season short-handed as the Habs special teams play was a big part of the game.

Last game: MTL 5  EDM 1  F

For a complete game recap: Oilers – Canadiens: Price, Habs Dominate Edmonton

Players to Watch

  • Jeff Petry
    Petry re-signed in the off season and has really become the ideal second-pairing  defenseman yet is still underrated by some. As a mobile defenceman with size, Petry can play in every situation, continuing to improve every season.
  • Joel Edmundson
    Edmundson has brought the physicality and will allow Petry to be more offensive. Edmundson has struggled to adjust to a zone defensive scheme but once he does, he should excel being a primary, stay-at-home defender.
  • Tomas Tatar
    Tatar is off to a great start, Not only does he have three goals in two games but all three of his goals have shown a high degree of skill. Tatar shows no rust and looks to repeat as the team point leader.

Keys to Victory

  • Contain elite opposition
    After shutting down Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on Saturday, both players wil be looking to avenge the last game. The Habs have to be ready for a bigger effort from both superstars.
  • Repeat last game’s performance
    After a dominant performance Saturday it will be much harder the second time around. That being said, the Habs have to find a way to repeat their performance as this situation will be happening a lot this season with multiple back to back games.
  • Win special teams
    The Habs dominated the special teams game on Saturday which was a surprise. The Habs still took three penalties including a second straight game with a puck of glass penalty. That type of penalty shouldn’t happen and could be a game changer if they aren’t more careful. 
Statistical Matchup
Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB | January 18, 9:00 PM ET | TV: TSN2, RDS, ESPN+

2020-21 statistics
OILERS CANADIENS
2 (24th) Points (rank) 3 (8th)
1-2-0 Record 1-0-1
1-2-0 Home/Away 1-0-1
1-2-0 Last 10 1-0-1
3.00 GF/G 4.50
4.00 GA/G 3.00
18.2 PP% 60.0
88.9 PK% 71.4
46.36  CF% 47.24
Pre-game Quotes
 Brendan Gallagher
  • “I think [Carey Price] is getting better and better. He’s such a competitor. He puts in so much work to his craft. I think he’s going to enjoy playing in front of this team that we have this year because we’re committed to doing a lot of things to help him out. You can’t put into words how valuable he is. It’s a pretty good feeling going into every game knowing you have him back there because you know you have a pretty good shot right off the bat.”
Projected Forwards, Defense and Goaltenders (subject to change)
Forwards
Nugent-Hopkins – McDavid – Kassian
Kahun – Draisaitl – Yamamoto
Nygard- Turris – Puljujarvi
Ennis -Shore – Chiasson		 Tatar – Danault – Gallagher
Drouin – Suzuki – Anderson
Toffoli – Kotkaniemi – Armia
Byron – Evans – Lehkonen
Defensemen
Nurse – Bear
Jones – Larsson
Koekkoek – Barrie		 Chiarot – Weber
Edmundson – Petry
Kulak – Romanov
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Archibald, Khaira, Russell
Injured: Smith, Haas
 Scratched: Mete
Injured: none
Goalies
Mikko Koskinen Jake Allen
Record: 1-2-0
GAA: – 4.04
Sv%: – .892
SO: 0
Alternate: Stuart Skinner		 Record: 0-0-0
GAA: – 0.00
Sv%: – .000
SO: 0
Alternate: Carey Price
 Game Expectations
The Oilers weren’t flat but seemed to give up after falling behind by a few goals. Expect to see a determined Connor McDavid who won’t get held of the score sheet two games in a row almost ever. What will be interesting to see this year will be the coaching adjustments teams make in between a series of games against the same team. A good coach will be able to make the right adjustments between games which will be key all season.

Bottom Line

The Habs need Claude Julien to make adjustments, even though they played a great game the Oilers will be a much different team and they will need to counter the adjustments made by the Oilers.
 Video Highlights

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