Game 34: Montreal Canadiens vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Blackhawks region: CHSN
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
It has been a difficult rebuild for the Chicago Blackhawks after they waited too long to move on from their aging championship-winning core. The team that was vying for the title of best in the league for a nine-year span from 2008-09 to 2016-17 saw that come to an abrupt end, not putting together a winning season since. Last year there was even some concern that Connor Bedard, one of the most highly touted prospects in the game over the past decade, wasn’t going to hit the ceiling envisioned for him, topping out at merely star status for his team and not reaching the expected upper echelon.
Those concerns are no longer there. After a 67-point 2024-25 season that carried a -36 goal differential, Bedard is currently sixth in the league scoring race at 44 points through 31 games played, on a team that ranks 25th in goals with just 93. That’s an involvement rate of 47.3% for Bedard in the offence his team creates.
Now the Blackhawks need to play without his services because he’s out with an upper-body injury, likely not to return until after the Christmas break. However, even before he went down it seemed like the clock was striking midnight on their surprisingly strong start to the year. On November 18 they had a 10-5-4 record and were tied with the Winnipeg Jets for third spot in the Central Division. They have four wins in the 14 games played since then, falling five points out of a wild-card spot in the process. In that time they also saw the Minnesota Wild make a major upgrade by adding Quinn Hughes, significantly reducing their odds of claiming a post-season spot in the NHL’s toughest division.
Chicago has arrived in Montreal on a three-game losing streak, most recently blowing a late third-period lead with two goals against in eight seconds to lose in regulation. At 6-8-3, they have one of the worst road records in the NHL, and most of those results came even with Bedard’s help.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Blackhawks |
|---|---|---|
| 17-12-4 | Record | 13-14-6 |
| 48.7% (19th) | Expected-goal share | 44.4% (32nd) |
| 3.15 (12th) | Goals per game | 2.82 (25th) |
| 3.48 (31st) | Goals against per game | 3.00 (14th) |
| 26.1% (4th) | PP% | 21.3% (11th) |
| 76.9% (25th) | PK% | 83.9% (4th) |
| 1-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 0-1-0 |
| Cole Caufield (17) | Most goals | Connor Bedard (19) |
| Nick Suzuki (28) | Most assists | Connor Bedard (25) |
| Nick Suzuki (37) | Most points | Connor Bedard (44) |
It’s a very stoppable force that visits the Bell Centre this evening, but Montreal’s defence has been easily movable all season long. On Tuesday they simply got outworked by the Philadelphia Flyers who were gifted a lead and then locked things down with their disciplined team defence. It was a frustrating result given how well the Habs had played just two days earlier versus the Edmonton Oilers, then couldn’t be bothered to put in a similar effort versus a worse offensive team. You could argue that missing Bedard will make it easier for the Blackhawks in their quest for a win as they’re more likely to get the lackadaisical defending without a star the Canadiens can focus on.
Major errors on defence, like leaving a player unchecked at the side of the net, being too careless with the puck at the offensive blue line, or, a new one that we witnessed last game, a lack of communication between a puck-handling goalie and his teammates, are what’s holding the Habs back the most, and will be the reason why they miss the playoffs if they don’t start to correct the issues.
The Habs went from what would have been second place in the Atlantic Division with a readily available win last game to now third in the wild-card race, and once again saw their home points percentage dip below .500. There are three more home games to play before their season’s toughest stretch of road games begins, and they can’t afford to drop another winnable match.
