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Pregame: Canadiens vs Maple Leafs |
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Follow me @KarineHains for all updates about the Montreal Canadiens and women's hockey
Toronto comes to town with a 5-4-1 record in its last 10 games and is very aware that the Lightning is close by in its rearview mirror. The Leafs have a two-point lead on the Bolts and they’ve also got a game in hand, so they are in a good position, but they need to seal the seal. Nobody wants to be the wildcard who must take on the Rangers or the Bruins.
As for the Canadiens, they’ve got a 4-4-2 record in their last 10 games and while their fate is already sealed playoffs-wise, they could do some damage to the Leafs’ bid to finish third in the division. This will be the last of three games between the two sides this season and Toronto can sweep the season series if they sign another win. Back in October at Scotia Bank Arena the Canadiens lost a spirited game 6-5 in the shootout and in early March at the Bell Centre, the Leafs won 3-2.
The Habs will be without both Kaiden Guhle (who's day to day) and Arber Xhekaj who's got an upper body injury but needs to be evaluated before a timetable can be set. As a result, Jonathan Kovacevic will draw back into the line-up and Justin Barron has been called up from Laval on an emergency basis.
To complicate matters for the locals, Mitch Marner is expected to return to the line-up tonight after missing 12 games with an ankle injury. The winger has got 76 points in 62 contests this season and his linemate, Auston Mathews is chasing his 100th point of the season. The Leafs’ captain John Tavares has collected four points in the two duels against Montreal this season and is after his 60th point of the year. Ilya Samsonov was manning the Leafs’ net in their two previous wins over the Canadiens.
Meanwhile, Cole Caufield and Joel Armia scored in the last two games while captain Nick Suzuki got three points in those two games. In net, both Samuel Montembeault and Jake Allen got a go at the Leafs earlier this season, but it would be surprising to see Cayden Primeau in net tonight after he surrendered six goals to Tampa on Thursday.
The game will start at 7:00 PM and is the second to last Saturday game of the season, the finish line is in sight!