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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
Montreal and Toronto have played each other twice so far this season and both times, the Canadiens got the W, once 4-3 in October and there was a 3-2 win in January. This time though, the Canadiens line-up will be even more depleted with Dach missing a second game because of a non-covid related illness and Arber Xhekaj being put on IR following his shoulder injury. Meanwhile, Toronto managed to fetch one of the biggest fish on the trade market last night when they obtained Ryan O’Reilly and Noel Acciari from the St-Louis Blues in a three-team deal in which the Wild acted as the cap-crunch enabler.
The Canadiens have yet to give an update about Xhekaj’s injury, only adding that the young blue liner will be meeting with a specialist in the coming days and that we’d know more then. Corey Schueneman was recalled from the Rocket to fill his roster spot and unsurprisingly after Wideman had an awful game against the Hurricanes, he’ll be replacing him in the line-up.
Kirby Dach came out on the ice this morning for a minute before he retreated and said he wasn’t good to go, meaning that Rem Pitlick will remain in the formation. In net, Samuel Montembeault will be making way to Jake Allen.
Both O’Reilly and Acciari are expected to make their debut for Toronto tonight and even though O’Reilly has had a tough season (he only has 19 points on the year and a chilling -24 rating, that’s 3 point less than Mike Hoffman who’s got a -4 rating), this should be a great addition for the Leafs. Most everything has gone wrong for the Blues this season and it’s a lot easier to play well on a contending team than on one that in the process of crashing in the standings.
The Leafs are currently second in the Atlantic division with 74 points, one in front of the Lightning and it looks like they’ll have to play the Tampa Bay team early in the playoffs yet again. Ryan O’Reilly, if he becomes himself again, is exactly the guy who could help them get over that bump. In case you need reminding, Toronto has not won a playoffs series since 2004 and with the core having 2 to 3 years left on their current contracts, time is of the essence for Kyle Dubas.
As for the Habs, they’re definitely not looking to win a playoffs series this season since they’ll be no Spring hockey in Montreal, but they’ll like to win the draft lottery though. They’re currently 26th in the league and for now, it looks pretty much impossible for them to “catch-up” to the Blackhawks, Blue Jackets and Ducks, but with a tough schedule ahead, it’s not impossible that they stoop to the Sharks, Coyotes or Canucks level.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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