Game 70: Montreal Canadiens @ St. Louis Blues
Start time: **8:00 PM EDT / 5:00 PM PDT**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Blues region: Victory+
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Unhappy with how their season was going, the Boston Bruins’ first reaction was to fire head coach Jim Montgomery, who had helped lead the Original Six franchise to the greatest record in NHL history in 2022-23 and followed that up with a 47-20-15 mark a year ago. As most teams do, the Bruins got an immediate boost from having a new person calling the shots, going 12-5-1 following Montgomery’s 8-9-3 mark, but the holes in their roster construction could only stay patched for so long. Down to an even 28-28-8 record at the trade deadline, ownership and management finally saw the reality of the situation and sold off most of their quality players to start a rebuild, one that won’t have the 2023 Jack Adams Award-winner carrying it along.
Boston’s loss has been the St. Louis Blues’ gain. They snatched Montgomery up before the week was even done following his dismissal, having just played both games of their season series against his Bruins. At the time, St. Louis was 9-12-1 under Drew Bannister. The Blues have put together 28 wins in the 50 games since, and have really taken off since the NHL schedule resumed following the 4 Nations. As they get set to host the Montreal Canadiens this evening, they hold a three-point lead in the race for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Montreal got a bit of help yesterday in its own bid to claim the final spot in the east. A late goal by the New York Islanders was disallowed for goaltender interference. Instead of a regulation win for the Isles, it ended up being a shootout win for the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was another three-point game between two clubs chasing the Habs, but considering that New York got out to an early 2-0 goals, a game won by the lower-ranked team after 65 minutes of play was a good result.
Record needed for 92 points
- (7) Ottawa Senators: 5-5-3 (79 points, 13 games remaining)
- (8) Montreal Canadiens: 8-4-1 (75 pts., 13 GR)
- (9) New York Islanders: 8-2-2 (74 pts., 12 GR)
- (10) New York Rangers: 8-1-2 (74 pts., 11 GR)
- (11) Columbus Blue Jackets: 9-2-1 (73 pts.,12 GR)
- (12) Detroit Red Wings: 9-1-2 (72 pts., 12 GR)
The Blues are the league’s best team since the international tournament with an .813 points percentage from a 12-2-2 record. The Canadiens are next on the list behind them with their .769 mark and just a single regulation loss. That’s what it has taken for tonight’s combatants to pull themselves back into the fight, and this clash is just as important in their playoff chases.
| Canadiens | Statistics | Blues |
|---|---|---|
| 33-27-9 | Record | 37-28-7 |
| 47.8% (27th) | Scoring-chances-for % | 50.6% (14th) |
| 3.01 (13th) | Goals per game | 2.97 (16th) |
| 3.26 (25th) | Goals against per game | 2.88 (13th) |
| 22.1% (15th) | PP% | 21.5% (17th) |
| 80.7% (12th) | PK% | 72.8% (28th) |
| 1-0-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 0-1-0 |
The Canadiens players can’t afford to look past this game as each one is critical to their post-season hopes, but we can see that not only is it the first game of a four-game road trip, it’s the first in a stretch of nine games in 15 days with two back-to-back sets and no two-day breaks until it’s over. Montreal has been able to say it holds a game or two in hand on its fellow wild-card competitors during this charge, but now they’ll be evening up the schedule in short order. Martin St-Louis will need to find a way to distribute the players’ ice time more evenly than he probably would like to allow the Habs to stay in the fight in the back half of this busy slate. All that while the players are in a playoff mindset with their season on the line. Some relief might be in sight as Kaiden Guhle is travelling with the team, suggesting that he will be able to spell someone from the lineup and allow for a rotation on the blue line to keep players fresh.
Several of Montreal’s players seem to be thriving under the increased pressure, like Nick Suzuki, Juraj Slafkovský, Patrik Laine, and Christian Dvorak who might be playing the best hockey of his career when it’s needed most. The Blues have a large ensemble helping to create their success: nine players with double-digit point totals over the past 16 games. They’ve scored 45 goals at five-on-five, averaging nearly three per contest before even adding in their work on special teams. That while allowing half as many in those full-strength minutes, being a force on both offence and defence that few teams have been able to handle.
With so much depth of scoring talent, it makes sense that the long-change second period has been where they’ve pounced on teams during this incredible run. They’ve recorded a league-best 23 goals in the middle frame since the break while surrendering just 11. That’s the period when the game could get away from the Habs if they’re not prepared for it, and the Blues haven’t been in the mood to allow comeback efforts like the Canadiens authored last week. This game requires focus right from the opening puck drop if Montreal wants to convert it into a critical two points.
