GAME DAY | Canadiens – Panthers: Preview, Lines, Goalies, TV, Fantasy
Jordan Lambe
Pre-game Notes and Quotes
Brendan Gallagher on his return to the lineup and reuniting with Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk on the top line “In our first game together, I got hurt, so hopefully we’ll be able to stay together for a little while now. They’ve been playing really good hockey so I’ll come in and try not to mess that up. We’ll just go out there and have some fun and work as hard as we can. There are four games left so there’s still time to play some good hockey and come back and contribute.”
Max Pacioretty on Nathan Beaulieu‘s injury Thursday night, and the long list of injuries that have come up over the season: “Obviously it was tough to see a guy go down last game, especially a guy who could benefit from playing big minutes and someone who was playing well and eating lots of minutes and gaining confidence. That’s the way the season has gone and we can’t get frustrated. When guys come back we have to make sure we build on our game. We see a bright future so we have to make sure we play the right way and have the right mindset to build a winning culture.”
Much to the peril of fans, Carey Price had this to say about his long-standing injury: “I’d like to play tomorrow, but I don’t have a set time to come back yet. Every day, I come in and see how I feel. I feel like it’s more of a day-to-day thing now,”
Mike Condon recorded his first career shutout against the Lightning on Thursday night.
The schedule for the Canadiens is simple over the next week, as they play every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until the season wraps up.
While the Canadiens have a 29-18-3 record versus teams in the Eastern Conference this season, the Panthers have a 31-12-6 record against teams from the East.
So far this season, the Canadiens have a 17-9-1 record versus teams in the Atlantic division, while the Panthersg have a 17-8-1 record versus teams coming from the Atlantic.
The Canadiens have maintained their place in the standings for the goals against category, as they are currently in 23rd in the league in goals against, with 224 in 78 games. The Panthers have allowed 191 goals in 77 games and find themselves in 5th in the league.
The Canadiens have maintained their place in the standings for the goals scored category as they are currently in 17th place in the NHL, with 208 over their first 78 games. The Panthers are 8th in this category with 221 goals scored in their first 77 games.
Matchup
BB&T Center, Sunrise, FL. | April 2, 7:00 PM ET | TV: FS-F, TVAS, SN
2015-16 statistics
PANTHERS
CANADIENS
95 (4th)
Points (Conference rank)
78 (13th)
43-25-9
Record
36-36-6
23-11-5
Home
21-15-3
20-14-4
Road
15-21-3
6-4-0
Last 10
4-6-0
2.87
G/G
2.67
2.48
GA/G
2.87
16.7
PP%
16.3
80.0
PK%
82.3
49.2
CF%*
51.2
48.8
CF60*
54.7
50.3
CA60*
52.0
*Advanced statistics: Score adjusted, even strength. CF%: Corsi for percentage of total CF60: Corsi For/60 minutes CA60: Corsi Against/60 minutes (via War on Ice)
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Huberdeau – Barkov – Jagr
Jokinen – Bjugstad – Smith
Purcell – Grimaldi – Hudler
Wilson – McKegg – Shaw
Pacioretty – Galchenyuk – Gallagher
Eller – Plekanec – Mitchell
Andrighetto – Desharnais – Byron
Carr – McCarron – Danault
Expected scratches: Matteau, Lessio, Brown, De la Rose
