All Habs Weekly Forecast: Habs Clash With Preds Before All-Star Break

Ty Prater

January 19, 2015

All Habs Weekly Forecast: Habs Clash With Preds Before All-Star Break — (Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

by Tyler Prater, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

(Photo by John Russell/NHLI via Getty Images)

LEXINGTON, KY — This upcoming week the Canadiens play one game against Nashville before the All-Star break. The previous week the Habs went 2-1-0 with a huge offensive performance from Tomas Plekanec, who had a four-point night in the 6-4 win against the Islanders last Saturday.

Calendar: January 19 – 25
MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN

	HOME

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Montreal Canadiens
The Habs (28-13-3) are coming off a bit of an inconsistent week offensively (scoring three goals on Wednesday, one goal on Thursday, and six on Saturday) but hope to keep their momentum moving forward in Tuesday’s game against the Nashville Predators. Montreal is still in second place in the Atlantic Division but has moved up to seventh in the league 59 points. They are 7-2-1 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
Brendan Gallagher. Gallagher has been a great guy to be on the ice with lately, assisting three goals in his last three games; adding to a total 14 assists this season. P.K. Subban. Subban has two goals in his last three games, tying last season’s high, ten, only halfway though this season.
Strengths (+)	Weaknesses (-)
Montreal’s goals against average has been strong all year, allowing just 2.36 goals per game. Most of the credit for the Habs’ strong defence goes to Carey Price and his .927 save percentage (5th).	The Canadiens struggle to put the puck in the net, averaging 2.64 goals per game (21st). The Habs’ low scoring can be attributed to their low shot attempts. At just 27.6 shots per game, Montreal is far behind Chicago’s average of 35.2 shots a game.

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Tuesday

Nashville Predators

The Predators (30-10-4) are coming off a 5-2 loss against the Red Wings last Saturday. Last week the Preds also lost their safety net, Pekka Rinne, to a sprained knee but their backup goalie, Carter Hutton, played 40 games last season and will still be tough to score on. Nashville is in first place in the Central Division and second in the league with 64 points. They are 7-1-2 in their last ten games.

Players to Watch

Colin Wilson. Wilson is a huge offensive threat. With eight points in his last five games, the Habs will have to minimize his puck possession.
Mike Fisher. Fisher is on a five-game point streak, totalling six points in those five games.

Strengths (+)

Weaknesses (-)

The Predators are tough to score on, allowing just 2.25 goals per game (1st) and their powerful offence averages three goals a game.

Nashville’s play with a man advantage struggles with their power-play at 15.9 per cent (24th) and their penalty-kill is also hurting at 79.4 per cent.

Matchup

Tuesday January 20 | Montreal, QC.

CANADIENS	(statistics as of January 18, 2015)	PREDATORS
59 (7th)	Points	64 (2nd)
14-5-3 (home)	Home/Away Record	12-8-3 (away)
2.64 (21st)	Goals per game	3.00 (5th)
2.36 (5th)	Goals Against per game	2.25 (1st)
27.6 (26th)	Shots per game	32.0 (4th)
30.3 (21st)	Shots Against per game	28.7 (11th)
15.9% (23rd)	Power-play	15.9% (24th)
84.8% (6th)	Penalty-kill	79.4% (20th)

Season Series

First meeting this year.
March 24, 2015 | MTL – NSH – | Recap – Canadiens vs Predators:
January 20, 2014 | MTL – NSH – | Recap – Predators vs Canadiens:

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