GAME DAY | Avalanche – Canadiens: Preview, Prediction, Lines, Goalies, TV

By
Sam Gerber
-
0
33
Game Preview by Sam Gerber
Last game : MTL 1  STL 4     The Canadiens defense was terrible giving up one high danger scoring chance after another. The Habs gave up multiple breakaways and didin’t defend well while shorthanded. Montreal was fortunate to go 1-for-6 on the power-play with some help from the Blues defence. It has been a rough week for the Habs who have fallen out of a playoff position.

For a complete game recap: Habs Soft, Not Ready says Julien

Players to watch

  • Paul Byron
    Byron is simply not a power-play guy but his work ethic may help provide an example to the slow execution and lazy play on the man advantage by Jonathan Drouin. Making improvements could be key for the Habs.
  • Carey Price
    Price was hung out to dry last game. There was nothing he could do on any of the  goals. The game against the Blues would have been much worse if he hadn’t stood on his head.     
  • Shea Weber
    With the Habs having a tough week, Weber himself suffered a facial injury. The character captain is playing through it. Weber is showing just how tough he is to play against.

Keys to Victory

  • Slow it down
    The Avs are a very fast team and will push the pace of the game. The Habs have to be careful to not get ahead of themselves. Slowing the game down and disrupting the Colorado attack may frustrate them. 
  • Use your depth
    Montreal has more depth and better secondary scoring than the Avalanche. The Canadiens need to take advantage of the match-up battle.
  • Win special teams
    The Habs power-play will never be great this season but they need to turn the page and just make it good and be a positive for the team the rest of the season. 
Matchup by All Habs staff
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC | January 12, 7:00 PM ET | TV: SN, TVAS, ALT

2018-19 statistics
AVALANCHE CANADIENS
48 (16th) Points (rank) 51 (14th)
20-16-8 Record 23-17-5
11-10-3 Away/Home 11-9-2
2-6-2 Last 10 6-4-0
3.43 GF/G 2.96
3.18 GA/G 3.09
25.9 PP% 12.8
75.5 PK% 78.4
49.65  CF%  54.25
 
 
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Landeskog – MacKinnon – Rantanen
Jost – Kerfoot – Compher
Nieto – Soderberg – Calvert
Andrighetto – Dries – Wilson		 Lehkonen – Domi – Armia
Drouin – Danault – Gallagher
Tatar – Kotkaniemi – Byron
Agostino – Chaput – Deslauriers
Defensemen
Girard – Johnson
Cole – Barrie
Graves – Barberio		 Mete – Weber
Reilly – Petry
   Kulak – Benn
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Bourque
Injured: Nemeth, Kamenev, Zadorov
 Scratched: Hudon, Peca, Alzner
Injured: Shaw
Goalies
Semyon Varlamov Carey Price
Record: 11-9-5
GAA: – 2.85
Sv%: – .908
SO: 1
Alternate: Philipp Grubauer		 Record: 16-13-4
GAA: – 2.75
Sv%: – .908
SO: 2
Alternate: Antti Niemi
 What to Expect by Sam Gerber
This is a must win game for the Canadiens who have lost three of their last four. Due to the recent struggles the Habs now sit out of a playoff spot and need to win consecutive games to get back in. The Avalanche have lost eight in their last nine games and are on a big Canadian road trip. They Avs should be rested and ready for their Saturday night match in Montreal. The Habs themselves have to be ready at puck drop as well as a few more losses this month could put the playoffs out of reach. 
Highlights from the NHL
Quick Links from Rocket Sports Media publications
[wp_rss_multi_importer category=”3″ thisfeed=”8″ showdate=”0″]
 
 
Habs360-sm-06 [wp_rss_multi_importer category=”6″ showdate=”0″]
 
Tickets
   
   
Get Habs Tickets  
  • Need tickets for an upcoming Canadiens game? Click the following link for the best prices on available tickets: Montreal Canadiens Tickets
 download

Follow @AllHabs on Twitter

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR