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In Hainsight: Showdown of Surprising Teams in the Desert |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
After what Martin St-Louis called his team’s best game since he was appointed in Vegas, the Canadiens will be taking on the Arizona Coyotes tonight at Mullet Arena. Both teams are having surprising starts to the season with the Canadiens sitting pretty in 10th place in the league standings while the Coyotes have a .500-point percentage. The Canadiens have had a couple of days to rest since their defeat in Vegas, but the Coyotes will be in the tail end of a back-to-back losing 4-3 to the Ducks in Anaheim. It must have been a soul crushing loss after coming back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 lead, only to see the Ducks equalize in the third and win in OT.
The desert dogs are led by forwards Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, defenseman Sean Durzi and rookie Logan Cooley who turned pro after one season in college. Cooley was the third pick overall in the 2022 draft behind Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec. So far, he’s got seven points in nice games and his lone goal was a highlight reel affair. Connor Ingram will be in net for Arizona, the same Ingram against whom Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first career-goal last season. Perhaps, this will be a confidence boost for the young Slovak who has yet to score this season. If Slafkovsky and Anderson don’t break through soon, it might be worth breaking up the line. Could Sean Monahan be just what the doctor ordered to unlock Slafkovsky’s potential? Or could he get an audition with the team’s dynamic duo on the first line? It could give him a boost, but he’s hardly earned it. Tricky situation.
Today, the Habs will not be having a morning skate in readiness for the game, only the players who aren’t playing tonight will be hitting the ice at 11:30 am Arizona time. The rest of the team will be working out in the hotel gym. After Nick Suzuki played his 300th game in Vegas, tonight, Tanner Pearson will be playing his 600th game. The forward has been a pleasant surprise this season, he’s got five points in nine games and a +4 rating. Hopefully, he can mark this milestone with a great performance.
Martin St-Louis will be speaking to the media at 4:30 PM local time and we should know then who will be manning the net for the Canadiens. Samuel Montembeault was in there last game and he was solid in the shootout loss.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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