GAME DAY | Montreal Canadiens vs Columbus Blue Jackets: Preview, TV, Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Habs Tickets

Game Preview

Last game : MTL 4 FLA 0 F The Canadiens started strong and kept their opponent off balance all game long. The Panthers didn’t get back on track until the third period and when they did, Carey Price was there to shut the door.

For a complete game recap: Price Takes Third on Habs All-time Shutout List

Players to watch

Jeff Petry
Petry had a career high four assists against the Panthers on Saturday bringing his season total to 33 points.
Artturi Lehkonen
Lehkonen had a very strong game against Florida using the forecheck to create turnovers. He had a goal on five shots and was named third star of the game.
Carey Price
Price set a major milestone against the Panthers recording the 47th shutout of his career. Price passed Ken Dryden to take sole position of third place on the Canadiens all-time list. Price will make his fifth straight start today.

Keys to Victory

Improve shot selection
The Blue Jackets play a tightly structured defensive system. The Habs will need more than an abundance of perimeter shots to score.
Create traffic
The Canadiens will need to go to the net against Columbus taking away the vision from goaltender Elvis Merzlikins. He has nine wins in 21 games this season.
Kill penalties
Other than a hiccup against the Capitals, Montreal has been strong on the penalty-kill for the last month. It has significantly improved since earlier in the season.

Statistical Matchup by All Habs
Bell Centre, Montreal, QC \| February 2, 2:00 PM ET \| TV: SN1, SNO, SNE, TVAS, FS-O
	2019-20 statistics
BLUE JACKETS	2019-20 statistics	CANADIENS
63 (9th)	Points (rank)	55 (22nd)
27-16-9	Record	24-22-7
11-7-7	Away/Home	11-13-4
8-1-1	Last 10	6-4-0
2.67	GF/G	3.04
2.50	GA/G	3.04
17.4	PP%	20.4
81.9	PK%	79.3
48.47	CF%	53.73

Pre-game quotes
Tomas Tatar “I don’t think it’s over until it’s over. We have 29 games left and we’re playing a lot of these games against our divisional teams, and if we will be able to beat them, we still have a small chance [to make the playoffs].”
Projected forward lines, defense pairings and goaltenders by All Habs
Forwards
Foligno – Dubois – Bjorkstrand Nyquist – Wennberg – Atkinson Gerbe – Jenner – Bemstrom Lilja – Nash – Robinson	Tatar – Danault – Gallagher Kovalchuk – Suzuki – Armia Lehkonen – Domi – Cousins Poehling – Thompson – Weise
Defensemen
Werenski – Jones Gavrikov – Savard Harrington – Nutivaara	Chiarot – Weber Kulak – Petry Scandella – Mete
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Milano Injured: Dubinsky, Anderson, Korpisalo, Texier, Murray, Kukan	Scratched: Weal Injured: Drouin, Byron
Goalies
Elvis Merzlikins	Carey Price

Record: 9-6-3 GAA: – 2.39 Sv%: – .926 SO: 3 Alternate: Matiss Kivlenieks	Record: 22-17-4 GAA: – 2.74 Sv%: – .911 SO: 3 Alternate: Charlie Lindgren

What to Expect

The Blue Jackets have only lost two of their past 23 games in regulation. Columbus had a six-game winning streak come to an end in Buffalo on Saturday as they lost to the Sabres in overtime. Today’s game will be a tough test for the Habs. Both teams will play their second game of a back-to-back.

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GAME DAY | Montreal Canadiens vs Columbus Blue Jackets: Preview, TV, Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Habs Tickets

2019-20 statistics