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

Sam Gerber

January 3, 2019

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

Game Preview by Sam Gerber

Last game : MTL 3 DAL 2 (OT) The calendar year 2018 came to an exciting finish with an overtime win on New Year’s eve. Phillip Danault continued his hot streak with another multi-goal performance. Jeff Petry scored the game winner after taking a nice pass from Paul Byron.

For a complete game recap: Habs Head Home After Successful Road Trip

Players to watch

Joel Armia
Armia returns to the line-up after a 25-game absence. He has a lot to give and has made a difference when on the roster even though he is not padding his stats sheet. It may take a few games to get back to speed but Armia will be on a mission in his return and should create a jump to the line-up.
Carey Price
Price will start tonight after missing the last three games to rest a lingering injury. It is little worrisome that yet again Price has a lower body injury that is effecting his play and could impact the future.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi
Kotkaniemi has been playing great for the last several games and if posts weren’t his best-friend he would have scored about five goals during those games. Tonight with all eyes on Elias Petersson, Kotkaniemi may be the one to steal the spotlight.

Keys to Victory

Limit the rookie
Elias Petersson is fresh off his first hat-trick. He provides almost all the offense for the Canucks and will need to be stopped.
Get physical
The Canucks still like to play a physical brand of hockey and the Habs have to be ready. If Montreal gets pushed around early they’ll be in for a long game.
Use your speed
The Canadiens have to use their speed, but Vancouver can match their footspeed up front. If the Habs can use their speed against the Canucks defense they’ll get a number of scoring chances.

Matchup by All Habs staff
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC \| January 3, 7:30 PM ET \| TV: TSN2, RDS, SNP
	2018-19 statistics
CANUCKS	2018-19 statistics	CANADIENS
44 (18th)	Points (rank)	47 (13th)
20-19-4	Record	21-14-5
11-10-3	Away/Home	10-7-2
6-3-1	Last 10	6-4-0
2.95	GF/G	3.15
3.12	GA/G	3.20
18.6	PP%	13.4
77.5	PK%	76.6
47.07	CF%	54.28



Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders
Forwards
Eriksson – Horvat – Roussel Leivo – Pettersson – Boeser Baertschi – Granlund – Leivo Virtanen Schaller – Beagle – Motte	Drouin – Domi – Byron Tatar – Danault – Gallagher Lehkonen – Kotkaniemi – Armia Agostino – Chaput – Deslauriers
Defensemen
Edler – Tanev Hutton – Gudbranson Stecher – Pouliot	Mete – Weber Reilly – Petry Kulak – Benn
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Del Zotto, Biega, Pyatt, Goldobin Injured: Sutter	Scratched: Peca, Hudon, Alzner Injured: Shaw, Schlemko
Goalies
Jacob Markstrom	Carey Price

Record: 17-10-3 GAA: – 2.81 Sv%: – .910 SO: 0 Alternate: Mike McKenna	Record: 15-10-4 GAA: – 2.84 Sv%: – .904 SO: 1 Alternate: Antti Niemi

What to Expect by Sam Gerber

The Canadiens start 2019 with a three-game home stretch starting with the Canucks. Vancouver is led by rookie Elias Petersson who the Habs will have to keep in check all night. For the Habs they get Armia and Price both coming back after dealing with injuries. Armia will slot in along side with Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Artturi Lehkonen where Andrew Shaw was playing, Shaw is currently day-to-day with an upper body injury he sustained against Dallas. Price’s return is really great news as Antti Niemi has had just one good start in Price’s absence. Let’s see if the Habs and Phillip Danault can continue their great play of late into 2019 and climb a bit in the standings. .

Highlights from the NHL

Quick Links from Rocket Sports Media publications
	[wp_rss_multi_importer category=”3″ thisfeed=”8″ showdate=”0″]


	[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

Follow @AllHabs on Twitter

2018-19 statistics