FORECAST | Galchenyuk Leads Habs vs Jackets, Caps, Canes
Ty Prater
All Habs Weekly Forecast gives a first look of the week ahead for your Montreal Canadiens. Staff writer Ty Prater maps out the schedule, provides a statistical comparison of each matchup, identifies players to watch, as well as strengths and weaknesses of each team and provides links to our game reports for the season series. Bookmark this page and use it as your guide for each game in the Canadiens schedule this week. The Weekly Forecast combined with our popular Game Day feature provides you with the best information available as you prepare for puck drop.
MONTREAL, QC. — This week the Canadiens play two at home before finishing the week in Carolina against the Hurricanes. Last week the Habs went 2-0-1 with a win and an overtime loss in their home-and-home series with New Jersey. Montreal received some bad news this week as Carey Price will be out for a minimum of six weeks with a lower body injury.
Calendar: November 30 – December 6
MON
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
SUN
HOME
HOME
AWAY
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Montreal Canadiens
The Habs (18-4-3) are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss against New Jersey last Saturday and start their week Tuesday against Columbus. Montreal is still first in the Atlantic Division and first in the league with 39 points. They are 6-2-2 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
Alex Galchenyuk. Galchenyuk has five goals in his last four games and a total of 18 points so far this season.
Tomas Plekanec. Plekanec has six assists in his last five games and 24 points this season (10th).
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
The Habs defence and goaltending have been strong, posting a goals against average of just 2.20 (3rd), as well as a penalty kill at 86.2 per cent (2nd).
Montreal’s faceoff woes continue as their win percentage has dropped down to 49.8 per cent (19th).
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Tuesday
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets (10-15-0) are coming off a 3-1 loss last Saturday against St. Louis and start their week Tuesday at Montreal. Columbus is eighth in the Metropolitan Division and 26th in the league with 20 points. They are 6-4-0 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
Ryan Johansen. Johansen has four goals in his last five games and 18 points this season.
Boone Jenner. Jenner has not had a point in his last three games but has 11 goals so far this season (9th).
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Columbus is struggling in all departments but they do get a lot of quality scoring chances, averaging 29.5 shots per game.
The Blue Jackets offence struggles to score with an average goals per game of 2.40 (20th), while their defence struggles to keep the puck out of their own net, allowing 3.04 goals against per game (26th).
Matchup
Tuesday December 1 | Montreal, QC.
CANADIENS
(statistics as of November 29, 2015)
BLUE JACKETS
39 (1st)
Points
20 (26th)
9-2-2 (home)
Home/Away Record
6-8-0 (away)
3.48 (2nd)
Goals per game
2.40 (20th)
2.20 (3rd)
Goals Against per game
3.04 (26th)
31.1 (4th)
Shots per game
29.5 (17th)
28.9 (12th)
Shots Against per game
29.7 (20th)
23.9% (4th)
Power-play
17.9% (20th)
86.2% (2nd)
Penalty-kill
81.1% (11th)
Season Series
January 26, 2016 | MTL CBJ |
January 25, 2016 | MTL CBJ |
December 1, 2015 | MTL CBJ |
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Thursday
Washington Capitals
The Capitals (17-5-1) are coming off a 4-2 win against Toronto last Saturday and start their week Thursday at Montreal. Washington is first in the Metropolitan Division and third in the league with 35 points. They are 7-2-1 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov has eight points in his last five games and 26 points this season (6th).
Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin has five points in his last five games as well as 12 goals (5th) and 118 shot attempts so far this season (1st).
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Washington’s defence does a good job of keeping shots off their own net, allowing just 26.7 shots against per game (2nd). They also have a strong powerplay ranked third at 26.8 per cent.
The Capitals might not allow many chances while playing 5 on 5, but they struggle on the penalty kill at 83.3 per cent.
Matchup
Thursday December 3 | Montreal, QC.
CANADIENS
(statistics as of November 29, 2015)
CAPITALS
39 (1st)
Points
35 (3rd)
9-2-2 (home)
Home/Away Record
7-2-0 (away)
3.48 (2nd)
Goals per game
3.22 (4th)
2.20 (3rd)
Goals Against per game
2.22 (4th)
31.1 (4th)
Shots per game
31.1 (3rd)
28.9 (12th)
Shots Against per game
26.7 (2nd)
23.9% (4th)
Power-play
26.8% (3rd)
86.2% (2nd)
Penalty-kill
83.3% (9th)
Season Series
February 24, 2016 | MTL WSH |
December 26, 2015 | MTL WSH |
December 3, 2015 | MTL WSH |
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Saturday
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes (8-11-4) last game was a 4-1 loss against Buffalo last Friday and start their week Monday against the Rangers before hosting Montreal Saturday. Carolina is seventh in the Metropolitan Division and 25th in the league with 20 points. They are 3-3-4 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
Justin Faulk. Faulk has six points in his last five games and eight power play goals this season (1st).
Kris Versteeg. Versteeg has four assists in his last five games and 14 points so far this season.
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Carolina makes it hard to get scoring chances, allowing only 25.4 shots against per game (1st). They also excel in the faceoff circle with a win percentage of 54.0 (1st).
The Hurricanes struggle to score, averaging 2.04 goals per game (28th) and their power play isn’t much help either at 13.0 per cent (30th).
