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The Canadiens have played twice against the Lightning so far this season, both games ended in defeat. In the first meeting in November, Tampa Bay scored plenty early in the first period by the end of which they were leading 4-0 the Canadiens did attempt a comeback but ended up losing 5-2. The other game, played at the end of December was a much better effort by the Canadiens but they still lost by a score of 4-3.
The Lightning is not having a great season, John Cooper’s team is currently occupying the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but the Capitals are only trailing them by five points and have three games in hand. Even Andrei Vasylevskiy is having a season that falls short of expectations with a save percentage of .896 and a goal-against average of 2.99. Still, Tampa is third in the league for goals scored with 210, meaning tonight’s starter for the Canadiens shouldn’t be twiddling his thumbs. Martin St-Louis has already confirmed that Cayden Primeau will get the start.
Brendan Gallagher missed yesterday’s practice for treatments, but it’s worth noting that in the last game, he received an elbow to the head and was hardly seen on the ice after that. Perhaps he’s experiencing concussion symptoms, but time will tell. Rafael Harvey-Pinard was back at practice in a regular jersey yesterday, but he’s yet to get the all-clear to play, perhaps that will happen today.
Once again tonight, the fate of the Canadiens will rest almost solely on the performance of the first line. Captain Nick Suzuki now has 59 points in 60 games and the 80-point mark seems attainable, especially if his current hot streak continues. Juraj Slafkovsky will hope to score in a second game in a row while Cole Caufield will be hoping to score, period. The sniper has only got 19 goals on the season, second only to Nick Suzuki’s 24, but still, more production is expected from a player whose main skill is to score goals.
The game starts at 7:00 PM and if you fancy a long hockey night, tune in to RDS, the CBC Gem app, or the league YouTube channel to watch PWHL Montreal’s tilt against PWHL Boston in Verdun. The last time Boston was in town, it was for Montreal’s home opener, and they ruined the party with a 3-2 win in overtime after Marie-Philip Poulin’s game-winning goal had been waved off. The puck drops at 4:00 PM in what should be a very intense battle.
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