Home Game Day Weekly forecast FORECAST | Habs Face Atlantic Division Rivals

FORECAST | Habs Face Atlantic Division Rivals

Ty Prater
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FORECAST | Habs Face Atlantic Division Rivals
(Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via 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 Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images)

MONTREAL, QC. — This week the Canadiens face Boston at home, then head to Detroit and return home to play Ottawa. Last week the Habs went 1-2-0 with each game being decided by just one point.

Calendar: December 7 – December 13
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
BostonBruins    
HOME AWAY HOME

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Montreal Canadiens
  • The Habs (19-6-3) are coming off a 3-2 loss against Carolina last Saturday and start their week Wednesday against Boston. Montreal is still first in the Atlantic Division while dropping to second in the league with 41 points. They are 6-3-1 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
  • P.K. Subban. Subban only has one assist in his last three games but boasts 20 assists so far this season (5th).
  • Alex Galchenyuk. Galchenyuk has an assist in each of his last two games played and 20 points this season.
Strengths (+) Weaknesses (-)
  • The Habs offence continues to remain hot, enjoying a 3.32 goals per game average (2nd) while getting plenty of offensive chances with an average of 31.3 shots per game (3rd).
  • Montreal’s power play remains strong, but has dropped down to 22.2 per cent after converting only 1 of 11 power play chances last week.

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Wednesday

Boston Bruins
  • The Bruins (14-9-3) are coming off a 3-2 loss against Nashville on Monday and face Montreal Wednesday. Boston is fourth in the Atlantic Division and 13th in the league with 31 points. They are 6-2-2 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
  • David Krejci. Krejci has four points in his last five games and leads the Bruins with 27 points so far this season (8th).
  • Brad Marchand. Marchand has three goals in his last three games and 13 goals this season (7th). The Halifax native also has three short-handed goals (1st).
Strengths (+) Weaknesses (-)
  • Boston’s power play is very strong at 30.7 per cent (1st) and their offence keeps up the pace at even strength with an average of 3.23 goals per game (3rd).
  • The Bruins give up a lot of goals, with an average goals against of 2.85 goals per game (22nd).
Matchup
Wednesday December 9 | Montreal, QC.

CANADIENS  (statistics as of December 6, 2015) BRUINS
41 (2nd) Points 31 (13th)
10-3-2 (home) Home/Away Record 9-2-2 (away)
3.32 (2nd) Goals per game 3.23 (3rd)
2.21 (4th) Goals Against per game 2.85 (22nd)
31.3 (3rd) Shots per game 30.3 (8th)
28.3 (7th) Shots Against per game 29.0 (15th)
22.2% (5th) Power-play 30.7% (1st)
86.3% (2nd) Penalty-kill 78.0% (23rd)

Season Series

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Thursday

Detroit Red Wings
  • The Red Wings (15-8-4) are coming off a 5-4 win against Nashville last Saturday and start their week Tuesday against Washington before hosting Montreal Thursday. Detroit is second in the Atlantic Division and eighth in the league with 34 points. They are 7-0-3 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
  • Tomas Tatar. Tatar has four points in his last three games played and 21 points this season.
  • Dylan Larkin. Larkin has six points in his last five games as well as 21 points so far this season.
Strengths (+) Weaknesses (-)
  • Detroit’s penalty kill gives opponents a tough time at 81.1 per cent.
  • The Red Wings power play is struggling at 17.2 per cent (22nd), while their offensive chances are also hard to come by averaging just 28.7 shots per game and allowing 30.4 shots against.
Matchup
Thursday December 10 | Detroit, MI.

CANADIENS  (statistics as of December 6, 2015) RED WINGS
41 (1st) Points 34 (8th)
9-3-1 (away) Home/Away Record 9-5-3 (home)
3.32 (2nd) Goals per game 2.59 (15th)
2.21 (4th) Goals Against per game 2.56 (15th)
31.3 (3rd) Shots per game 28.7 (22nd)
28.3 (7th) Shots Against per game 30.4 (21st)
22.2% (5th) Power-play 17.2% (22nd)
86.3% (2nd) Penalty-kill 81.1% (13th)

Season Series

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Saturday

Ottawa Senators
  • The Senators (14-8-5) last game was a 4-1 loss against the Rangers last Sunday and they start their week Tuesday against Florida before playing Montreal Saturday. Ottawa is third in the Atlantic Division and ninth in the league with 33 points. They are 6-3-1 in their last ten games played.
Players to Watch
  • Erik Karlsson. Karlsson has eight points in his last five games and 32 points so far this season (4th). The Ottawa captain leads the league with 26 assists.
  • Mike Hoffman. Hoffman has seven points in his last five games played and 14 goals this season (4th).
Strengths (+) Weaknesses (-)
  • Ottawa’s offence is strong, averaging 3.07 goals per game (5th).
  • The Senators give up a lot of shots, sitting last in the league with an average of 34.0 shots against per game. Giving up so many chances has also led to the Senators letting in a lot of goals, allowing an average of 2.89 goals against per game (24th).
Matchup
Saturday December 12 | Montreal, QC.

CANADIENS  (statistics as of December 6, 2015) SENATORS
41 (2nd) Points 33 (9th)
10-3-2 (home) Home/Away Record 7-4-1 (away)
3.32 (2nd) Goals per game 3.07 (5th)
2.21 (4th) Goals Against per game 2.89 (24th)
31.3 (3rd) Shots per game 28.3 (24th)
28.3 (7th) Shots Against per game 34.0 (30th)
22.2% (5th) Power-play 21.0% (9th)
86.3% (2nd) Penalty-kill 76.7% (25th)

Season Series

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