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In Hainsight: Crashing the Jets Before Taking off |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
Prior to the season, most people agreed that this season would once again be about development for the Canadiens and that results mattered very little. However, we’re now seven games in and the Habs have got nine points and they’re fifth in the Atlantic division and ninth in the Eastern Conference. When Kirby Dach was injured in the second game, many were ready to push the panic button and even more were when Kaiden Guhle got injured, but somehow the Canadiens kept going. Even with David Savard out of action for weeks, the Sainte-Flanelle showed character battling back from 2-0 and 3-1 to beat the Blue Jackets 4-3 in overtime.
Tonight’s visitors, the Winnipeg Jets, come to town with eight points in seven games and riding a three-game winning streak. They beat the Red Wings 4-1 on Thursday and as always, Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Josh Morissey are leading the team in scoring with seven points each. In net, Connor Hellebuyck has played six of the team’s seven games, but only has a .899 save percentage right now, far from his usual standards. No word yet if he’ll be manning the net though, back-up Laurent Brossoit could use a little action since his last start was on October 19 against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
After sitting out the last two games, Jake Allen will be back in the Canadiens’ net. So far this season, he’s the one who’s had the best performances. His career record against Winnipeg is not great though, in 16 games, he’s only won six with a 3.24 GAA and a .882 SP. Strangely enough, in the four games he’s played against the Jets, Montembeault has the same save percentage. Makes sense to go with the goaltender who’s got the best record so far this season.
This won’t be the only change in the line-up though as Joel Armia and Kaiden Guhle will be playing tonight. It’s a return from injury for Guhle while Armia will be playing his first game of the season. To be fair, I’m surprised to see Ylonen make way, he’s look pretty good out there this year. On defense, Gustav Lindstrom will be making way for Guhle
It's worth noting the Buffalo Sabres are currently down two masked men with both Devon Levi and Eric Comrie being injured, should Kent Hughes give them a call? They would have the cap room needed to take on Jake Allen’s contract and he might be a good option while Levi spends some time in the AHL to get plenty of ice time and learn to be a pro. Allen is currently in the first year of a two-year contract extension and has a $3.85 M cap hit. Seems like a lot for a goaltender that could never be a real number one, but goalie options are scarce around the league. The Canadiens could always retain some salary, but since they’re already retaining salary on two contracts and the maximum allowed his three, they wouldn’t have that option to work with come trade deadline. One thing’s for sure though, now would not be a good time to send Primeau to Laval as Buffalo could easily pick him up on waivers.
As always, tonight’s game is set for 7:00 PM local time but the other games this week will be beginning at 10:00 PM, might has well get some rest this weekend Habs fans. On another note, Tomas Plekanec has just called the time on his career, apparently health issues are preventing him from finishing the season. Pleky spent 15 years playing in Montreal and skated in the NHL for 1001 games. Over the course of his career, he picked up 608 points including three seasons of 60 points and over. When he was traded to the Maple Leafs at the 2018 trade deadline, Plekanec said he would be back and he was true to his word. He signed one last contract with the Habs and played three games in this last season to break the 1000 games mark. Since then, he’s been playing in his native Czechia, spending the last three seasons with his hometown team of Kladno. Happy retirement Pleky and thanks for the memories!
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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