Game 38: Montreal Canadiens @ Tampa Bay Lightning
Start time: **5:00 PM EST / 2:00 PM PST**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Lightning region: The Spot
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
The Montreal Canadiens have put together a solid December so far, going 7-4-2 for the 12th-highest points percentage in the NHL, despite injuries that just keep piling up. The latest of those is a four- to six-week absence for Jake Evans, out with an injury sustained in a knee-on-knee collision. That is now four middle-six forwards on the injured list as the Habs prepare for the toughest stretch of the season.
The five-game road that goes from Florida to North Carolina, over to Missouri, and finally to Texas begins late this afternoon in Tampa, where the Canadiens will play the Lightning for the second time this season. The first game was one of the four losses the Habs have accrued this month, and one of the most disappointing performances. They simply couldn’t keep Tampa Bay off the board in a 6-1 loss on home ice, with Jakub Dobeš and Samuel Montembeault each allowing three goals despite facing a total of just 27 shots.
Neither of those netminders have been called on for today’s game. The start will instead go to Jacob Fowler, his sixth of the month as he aims to improve an already impressive 3-1-1 record and a .918 save percentage. He’s giving the Canadiens the best chance to win, and has stuck around even with Montembeault rejoining the team following his AHL conditioning stint.
Tale of the Tape
| Canadiens | Statistics | Lightning |
|---|---|---|
| 20-12-5 | Record | 21-13-3 |
| 48.1% (25th) | Expected-goal share | 55.0% (2nd) |
| 3.27 (7th) | Goals per game | 3.27 (9th) |
| 3.27 (23rd) | Goals against per game | 2.59 (4th) |
| 26.0% (4th) | PP% | 17.2% (22nd) |
| 77.7% (22nd) | PK% | 84.8% (2nd) |
| 0-1-0 | Head-to-Head Record | 1-0-0 |
| Cole Caufield (18) | Most goals | Brandon Hagel (18) |
| Nick Suzuki (31) | Most assists | Nikita Kucherov (32) |
| Nick Suzuki (42) | Most points | Nikita Kucherov (47) |
Even though he’s been very good, Fowler would probably appreciate not facing the 16 scoring chances the Canadiens allowed the Lightning in the first period back on December 9. They still haven’t quite learned that lesson with too many scoring opportunities allowed in their average game, but they have been better at limiting the shots from right in front of their netminders, only allowing seven such chances in the final game before the break in Boston.
The Canadiens will catch the Lightning in the second game of a back-to-back, which is normally a good situation for an opponent, but in this case it means Tampa Bay has worked out the kinks from not playing for a few days. The Habs (at least everyone but Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov) haven’t played in five days and will probably need several shifts to get up to speed.
On the other side of the coin is that the Lightning played another emotional game versus the Florida Panthers, a match that featured 136 minutes in penalties, and nine penalty kills for Tampa Bay. This may be a divisional matchup today, but it doesn’t compare to the rivalry among the two Florida teams, and that might be to the Canadiens’ advantage.
After a bit of a down period for offence, Montreal has somehow regained its goal-scoring skill. In the seven games since the embarrassing loss to Tampa Bay, 14 players have scored. Eleven of the 26 goals have been assisted by Hutson who is playing at the highest level of his career, starting to post multi-post efforts with regularity, and also averaging over 25 minutes per game in that span. He was a career-best +4 last Tuesday in Boston, and he will want to have a similar performance to kick off this stretch of five difficult games in eight days that will play a big role in how this season goes for Montreal.
