Canadiens Lineup

Harvey-Pinard – Nick Suzuki – Josh Anderson

Mike Hoffman – Kirby Dach – Evgenii Dadonov

Joel Armia – Christian Dvorak – Jonathan Drouin

Michael Pezzetta – Alex Belzile – Jesse Ylonen

Arber Xhekaj – David Savard

Mike Matheson – Justin Barron

Jordan Harris – Johnathan Kovacevic

Jake Allen – Sam Montembeault

Chris Wideman, Rem Pitlick

Carey Price (knee), Paul Byron (hip), Sean Monahan (lower-body), Kaiden Guhle (lower-body), Brendan Gallagher (lower-body), Jake Evans (lower-body), Juraj Slafkovsky (lower-body), Cole Caufield (shoulder), Joel Edmundson (upper-body)

Game Report

After practice this week, young defenceman Jordan Harris was asked about his goals for the rest of the season. “Defensively, things have been pretty good for the most part. [..] Offensively, I know I have more I can do.”

It’s fair to say that Harris is well on his way to checking that box after this weekend. Harris scored twice against the Oilers on three shots, had a plus-4 rating and played 23:15 in earning the game’s first star. Harris has been noticeable in making smart decision to join the offence in the two games since the break.

Kirby Dach had another strong game down the middle. The 22-year-old has energized his two wingers: Evgenii Dadonov had two assists in the game and Mike Hoffman has continued to be a renewed threat bringing his name back into the discussion of trade assets. With a steal, Dach set up a shorthanded goal by Christian Dvorak.

Jake Allen had a solid start making 29 saves while picking up his 11th win of the season. Even more impressive was the way Allen’s teammates played in front of him limiting the high octane attack of the Oilers to just seven high-danger scoring chances. 

It was an impressive team win for the Canadiens taking down the Oilers who had been on a 9-0-2 run. “They were ready. They were in our faces. They blocked shots. We didn’t,” said Edmonton defenceman Vincent Desharnais. “They just played better. We don’t have any excuses.”

Up Next

Arber Xhekaj was injured in a second period fight with the Oilers Vincent Desharnais. Xhekaj did not return to the game and was seen post-game with his arm in a sling. He is listed with an upper body injury and will be evaluated by team doctors over the next few days.

The Chicago Blackhawks will pay a visit to Montreal on Tuesday night to face the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.

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