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Savard, Anderson Return to Columbus | PREVIEW: MTL @ CBJ

Sam Gerber

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

Game Preview 

A Look Back

It was a scoreless game between the Habs and Jets in the first period. Joel Armia wasted no time in the second scoring in the opening minute to give the Habs their only lead of the game. The Jets answered back with two of their own and the Habs were down a goal heading into the final frame. Josh Anderson tied things up off a set faceoff play deflecting in the Jeff Petry shot but the Jets got the goal minutes later on the odd man rush. The Habs couldn’t come back for a third time and the Jets added an empty-netter.

Last game: MTL 2  WPG 4  F

For a complete game recap: 100th Goal for Anderson | RECAP: WPG @ MTL

Players to Watch

  • Cole Caufield
    Caufield’s five-game goal streak came to end last game. The first line struggled and Caufield was weak defensively being a minus-2 on the night. Caufield is still young  and can be impact maker if he becomes a more complete player.
  • Rem Pitlick
    Pitlick is giving Habs fans plenty of reasons to cheer for his offence. But the analytics folks label his as the worst player defensively in the league. It will be interesting to see if Pitlick has done enough to earn a spot next season and if management will temporarily accept his liabilities for the entertainment value.
  • Carey Price
    There are rumblings that Carey Price will play this week. Price has been seen practicing for weeks and the belief is he is close to ready. Price will likely play a few  home games giving the fans a chance to show their support and appreciation for everything he has overcome this season.

Keys to Victory

  • Use speed
    The Habs were victimized a few times by the Jets’ speed last game. Speed should be one of the Habs strengths and needs to be something they use to expose their opponents.
  • Create offence
    The Habs continue to stay in games but the offense lacks creativity and once again the Habs are not generating a lot of shots making their offence often being opportunistic at best.
  • Execute coverage
    Odd-man rushes are a part of hockey but when a team is giving up several a game it becomes an issue. The Habs have to work much harder on their defensive coverage to not give up so many glorious opportunities to their opponents.
Statistical Matchup for Game 74
Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH | April 13, 7:00 PM ET | TV: SN, RDS, NHLN, ESPN+, BSOH

2021-22  statistics
BLUE JACKETS CANADIENS
79 (19th) Points (rank) 51 (31st)
34-33-6 Record 20-42-11
W1 Streak L2
2-5-3 Last 10 3-6-1
3.16 (13th) GF/G (rank) 2.59 (29th)
3.71 (30th) GA/G (rank) 3.80 (31st)
17.2 (26th) PP% (rank) 13.4 (31st)
78.7 (18th) PK%  (rank) 74.8 (28th)
48.4  Faceoff % 48.3
Pre-game Quotes
David Savard
  • “It’s going to be special tonight. As soon as we landed, it was my first time back in Columbus, and you just feel right at home a little bit. It kind of feels like you never left. We have so many good memories here. I had three kids here, and it feels like home. I just love Columbus to death. We’ll come back and visit. There’s a bunch of friends we have here, so it’s a special town for me.”

Josh Anderson

  • “My time here in Columbus, I loved every minute of it. We had a great team here and a lot of great memories. It’s nice to be back. I’m going to enjoy tonight and take it all in.”
Projected Forwards, Defense and Goaltenders (subject to change)
Forwards
Nyquist – Roslovic – Laine
Johnson – Danforth – Bjorkstrand
Voracek – Sillinger – Bemstrom
Robinson – Gaunce – Meyer		 Caufield – Suzuki – R. Pitlick
Hoffman – Evans – Anderson
Armia – Dvorak – Gallagher
Byron – Poehling – T. Pitlick
Defensemen
Werenski – Peeke
Gavrikov – Boqvist
Christiansen – Bean		  Romanov – Savard
Edmundson – Petry
Harris – Wideman
Out of the lineup
Scratched:
Injured: Jenner, Texier, Tarasov, Korpisalo, Kuraly		 Scratched: Lagesson, Clague, Perreault, Pezzetta, Dauphin, Schueneman
Injured: Allen (lower-body), Barron (lower-body), Drouin (upper-body), Price (knee), Weber (multiple injuries)
Goalies
Elvis Merzlikins Sam Montembeault
Record: 24-19-6
GAA: 3.40
Sv%: .904
SO: 2
Alternate: JF Berube		 Record: 7-15-6
GAA: 3.59
Sv%: .896
SO: 1
Alternate: Cayden Primeau
 Game Expectations
It will likely be a pretty quiet game between two non-playoff teams, but has a chance to be a high-scoring affair. Both teams are in the bottom three in the league for goals against and while the Blue Jackets are in the top half of the league scoring-wise they are not a very deep team. This is a game where some of the Habs best players need to stand out.

Bottom Line

A hard fought game is all fans want to see but at the same time the Habs find themselves in race for last place giving the fans mixed emotions about winning and losing.
 Video Highlights

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