Home Game Day Weekly forecast FORECAST | Habs Work to Get Back to Winning Ways

FORECAST | Habs Work to Get Back to Winning Ways

Ty Prater
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FORECAST | Habs Work to Get Back to Winning Ways
(Photo by Getty Images)

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.

by Tyler Prater, Staff Writer, All Habs Hockey Magazine

(Photo by Getty Images)

MONTREAL, QC. — The week the Canadiens play three on the road, facing Nashville, Minnesota, and Washington. Last week the Habs went 0-3, with a week we’d all like to forget about already.

Calendar: December 21 – December 27
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
Logo_Nashville_Predators  
  Merry-Christmas-Logo5  
AWAY AWAY AWAY

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Montreal Canadiens
  • The Habs (20-11-3) are coming off a 6-2 loss last Saturday against Dallas and start their week Monday at Nashville. Montreal is still first in the Atlantic Division, but barely hanging on as Boston is just one point behind. The Canadiens have fallen to fifth in the league with 43 points. They are 2-7-1 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
  • P.K. Subban. Subban has two assists in his last three games for a total of 22 assists this season (6th).
  • Daniel Carr. Carr had a goal in his last game and has three points in his seven games with the Habs.
Strengths (+) Weaknesses (-)
  • The Habs scoring has slowed down a bit, only scoring three goals in their last three games, but overall their offence is still strong with an average of 3.0 goals per game (4th).
  • Montreal has dropped down to tenth place in the league, allowing 2.38 goals against per game. The Canadiens power play has also dropped to 19.3 per cent (13th).

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Monday

Nashville Predators
  • The Predators (16-11-6) are coming off a 3-2 win against Minnesota last Saturday and start their week Monday against Montreal. Nashville is fifth in the Central Division and 14th in the league with 38 points. They are 4-4-2 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
  • Roman Josi. Josi has two points in his last two games and leads Nashville with 24 points so far this season.
  • Shea Weber. Weber has three assists in his last two games and 22 points this season.
Strengths (+) Weaknesses (-)
  • The Predators power play has been effective at 20.5 per cent.
  • Nashville struggles to score, averaging 2.52 goals per game (19th), while allowing an average of 2.55 goals against.
Matchup
Monday December 21 | Nashville, TN.

CANADIENS  (statistics as of December 20, 2015) PREDATORS
43 (5th) Points 38 (14th)
9-5-1 (away) Home/Away Record 10-4-3 (home)
3.00 (4th) Goals per game 2.52 (19th)
2.38 (10th) Goals Against per game 2.55 (16th)
31.5 (4th) Shots per game 31.5 (3rd)
27.5 (3rd) Shots Against per game 26.5 (2nd)
19.3% (13th) Power-play 20.5% (9th)
85.2% (4th) Penalty-kill 76.2% (29th)

Season Series

  • February 22, 2016 | MTL NSH |
  • December 21, 2015 | MTL  NSH |

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Tuesday

Minnesota Wild
  • The Wild (17-8-6) are coming off a 3-2 loss against Nashville last Saturday and start their week Monday against Dallas before playing Montreal Tuesday. Minnesota is fourth in the Central Division and 12th in the league with 40 points. They are 6-1-3 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
  • Mikko Koivu. Koivu has nine points in his last four games and leads the Wild with 29 points.
  • Thomas Vanek. Vanek has five points in his last three games and 24 points so far this season.
Strengths (+) Weaknesses (-)
  • The Wild have a strong offence, averaging 2.77 goals per game.
  • Minnesota’s penalty kill is struggling at 77.9 per cent (23rd).
Matchup
Tuesday December 22 | St. Paul, MN.

CANADIENS  (statistics as of December 20, 2015) WILD
43 (5th) Points 40 (12th)
9-5-1 (away) Home/Away Record 12-3-1 (home)
3.00 (4th) Goals per game 2.77 (9th)
2.38 (10th) Goals Against per game 2.35 (8th)
31.5 (4th) Shots per game 28.2 (24th)
27.5 (3rd) Shots Against per game 28.6 (12th)
19.3% (13th) Power-play 20.6% (8th)
85.2% (4th) Penalty-kill 77.9% (23rd)

Season Series

  • March 12, 2016 | MTL  MIN |
  • December 22, 2015 | MTL  MIN |

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Saturday

Washington Capitals
  • The Capitals (24-6-2) are coming off a 7-3 win against the Rangers last Sunday and start their week Monday against Carolina before playing Montreal Saturday. Washington is first in the Metropolitan Division and first in the league with 50 points. They are 8-1-1 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
  • T.J. Oshie. Oshie has five points in his last two games for a total of 22 so far this season.
  • Nicklas Backstrom. Backstrom has four assists in his last two games and leads the Capitals with 31 points.
Strengths (+) Weaknesses (-)
  • Washington has no trouble putting the puck in the net, averaging 3.16 goals per game (3rd), while only allowing 2.19 goals against per game (2nd).
  • The Capitals are struggling with a 49.9 per cent faceoff win percentage (16th).
Matchup
Saturday December 26 | Washington, DC.

CANADIENS  (statistics as of December 20, 2015) CAPITALS
43 (3rd) Points 46 (1st)
9-4-1 (away) Home/Away Record 11-3-0 (home)
3.19 (2nd) Goals per game 3.37 (1st)
2.23 (4th) Goals Against per game 2.60 (17th)
31.5 (4th) Shots per game 32.2 (2nd)
28.1 (6th) Shots Against per game 28.5 (9th)
20.4% (10th) Power-play 22.9% (3rd)
86.7% (3rd) Penalty-kill 79.5% (20th)

Season Series

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