Weekly Forecast: Habs, Condon Look to Stand Strong Against Pens, Avs
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.
Alex Galchenyuk (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC. — This week the Canadiens get a little rest, playing only two games; Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Colorado on Saturday. Last week the Habs went 2-0-1, tallying eight goals in their wins against the Islanders and Boston.
Calendar: November 9 – November 15
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Montreal Canadiens
The Habs (13-2-1) are coming off a 4-2 win against Boston last Saturday and start their week Wednesday at Pittsburgh. Montreal keeps its lead in the Atlantic Division and the league with 27 points, far ahead of second place Dallas with 22 points. They are 7-2-1 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
P.K. Subban. Subban has three assists in his last four games for a total of 13 assists this season (1st).
Brendan Gallagher. Gallagher has four points in his last two games and four power play goals this season (2nd).
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Montreal’s offence continues its dominance so far this season, averaging 3.69 goals per game (1st) and a power play ranked third at 27.3 per cent.
The Canadiens still struggle to win faceoffs, winning only 50.1 per cent (15th).
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Wednesday
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins (9-5-0) last game was a 5-3 loss against Calgary last Saturday and they start their week Wednesday against Montreal. Pittsburgh is third in the Metropolitan Division and tenth in the league with 18 points. They are 8-2-0 in their last ten games.
Players to Watch
Phil Kessel. Kessel has five points in his last six games and three game winning goals this season (1st).
Evgeni Malkin. Malkin has three points in his last six games and leads the Penguins with 11 points this season.
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Pittsburgh has a strong defence with a penalty kill at 88.6 per cent (4th) and a goals against average of 2.0 (3rd).
The Penguins struggle on offence, averaging just 2.21 goals per game (25th) and their power play has been pretty quiet at 15.9 per cent (21st).
The Avalanche (4-9-1) are coming off a 2-1 loss against the New York Rangers last Friday and start their week Tuesday against Philadelphia. Colorado is seventh in the Central Division and 28th in the league with nine points. They are 2-7-1 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon has five points in his last three games and 15 points this season (8th).
Jarome Iginla. Iginla has four points in his last four games and three power play goals so far this season (9th).
Strengths (+)
Weaknesses (-)
Colorado has struggled so far this season but area they have excelled in is their penalty kill, at 81.6 per cent.
The Avalanche give up a lot of goals, averaging 3.0 goals against per game (25th), while only scoring an average of 2.57 per game.
